Wrong Side of the Tracks
by kqshipalot
Summary: When Mary Stuart received the internship at the law firm of Valois & Matheson, she wasn't prepared to be thrown into a world that valued wealth, passion, secrets, and betrayal above all. And she never dreamt she would fall in love in the most unlikely places. Modern AU. I do not own Reign or the characters
1. Valois & Matheson

Chapter 1- Valois & Matheson

A/N: Just a quick introduction. The chapters in this story will be longer since you'll have to wait a week in between and the story is longer. This will help me develop the plot and the character relationships. It's in first person POV after this (Mary mostly, with some occasional Bash chapters.) I apologize for any errors. I haven't slept much these past 2 weeks, and this is my first fic.

They called themselves Society's Elite and Rightful Citizens. They came from old money and new money, homes and fortune passed through generations. Women turned their backs when another woman tried to seduce their husbands. Men turned to their scotch when their wives left the house at night for another's company.

It was only when Henry Valois opened a law firm that the truth made its way into the public. 1984 was the year that SERC was no longer a secret, because of an ambitious 26 year-old Valois who had spent a mere part of his childhood hearing the whispers of rumors circulating among the people of his street, Georgetown Pike. When the public started learning of SERC, the whispers stopped and it became but a memory for Henry.

The eldest Valois married a woman named Catherine soon after and she bore him a daughter, Elizabeth, and two sons, Francis and Charlie. Between the birth of Elizabeth and Francis, he had another son with a woman named Diane Poitiers, a son by the name of Sebastian Lucas Poitiers. Sebastian, better known as Bash, lived a quiet life with his mother while they worked to meet ends meet. Diane was Henry's secret. One not well kept to his family, but to the public eye she was a ghost. And their son was no one.

They lived like this until Bash was 25, when light started to come into the young man's life. He was considered an "East End Boy," with no money to his name because of his illegitimacy. He worked at a Sports grille where he had more drunken women thrown at him than money, a car that only worked half of the time, and nowhere to go but home if he wanted another's presence. His younger years had been spent watching the other kids at school associate themselves with their friends on the playground while he stayed in the sandbox making doodles with a stick he'd pick up on the road walked to school every day. Bash was not the person who would have normally crossed Mary Stuart's path.

He was certainly not the guy that would have talked to her had she not turned around that day in the pastry shop. Guys like Bash were ignored once someone got past their looks and made note of their social or economic standing. It had become such normality for him that he had accepted it long before Mary Stuart walked into his life. He had nothing to offer but a one night stand or the lack of his father's inheritance. At least, if somebody was looking for something materialistic he couldn't help them. Knowing his luck, there wouldn't be a girl out there that would look past those things. There was never going to be a girl who could accept his struggles, his past and present, or lack of fortune. All he could hope for was that he'd find somebody to love with all he could give them. He promised himself that he would never have either of his parents' relationships.

At least, that was Bash's way of thinking. After so many disappointments, what else could he do but prepare for more? No matter what effort he gave, everything would eventually come back to blow up in his face with such force he'd wonder why he even tried at all. All he could hope for was that, one day, things would start to get better. And they did. In the form a young girl from the other side of the tracks.

She was a "West End Girl," and had been the whole 21 years of her life. Her father had passed away during her childhood and she and her mother relocated from Scotland a year after. Her mother, Marie, was one of the wealthiest and most respectable chefs of the state. Mr. Stuart had left them plenty of money because of the bank that had been owned by his parents, passed to him. Marie's parents left her their fortune when they passed away, one year apart. With that, Mr. Stuart's inheritance, and the wealth Mrs. Stuart made, Mary was in good company. Her wardrobe could fill the entire bedroom she'd been given plus more, she loved shopping and dining (especially when her mother was so well known other restaurants tripped over their feet to please her with a discount), and she liked to believe nothing was missing from her life. She had a caring mother, a nice home, and the cutest outfits and accessories she could want.

There was only one thing Mary never had the opportunity to cherish.

Love. Not the love she was given by her mother, or restaurant owners that scrambled to meet her needs, but rather from somebody who would join in her in her awful dancing rather than laugh at it, or tell her she looked beautiful at any time of the day. The love she could still feel when all else would only be a small flicker of light in a dark place. Maybe that was the reason why she went shopping and dining often. It helped her to forget the loneliness her mind had not accepted the way her heart had.

The day she received her internship opportunity was the day everything changed. SERC came back into the spotlight 30 years later, eventually due to a case that would become front page news. She thought she had it all but one case helped her to see the reality and acknowledge what she was missing.

And Mary Stuart found herself involved in a world fueled by wealth, passion, secrets, and betray. And she found herself falling in love in the most unlikely places.

Two strangers, two worlds, came together as one throughout those months.


	2. West End Girls

**A/N: Way to set the bar high with all the follows and favorites and comments! Wow! It was a nice surprise. I hope 1****st**** person POV doesn't irritate anyone but Mary is just your average (ok, filthy rich) modern girl who needs a wake-up call and to get out a little to know how other people like Bash live. This chapter has more Francis and other characters but we will meet Bash here =). It will also take a few chapters to get everything started and developing. *stands back and waits for the flaming to commence*. This is what my fingers type when I'm exhausted, so my apologies if it's not amazing =)**

**I do not own Reign or the characters (I've made up some though). Don't sue a college student please. All mistakes are mine.**

_Too many shadows, whispering voices_

_Faces on posters, too many choices_

_If, when, why, what?_

_How much have you got?_

West End Girls- Pet Shop Boys

"I'm sorry Francis but I'm afraid there's been a mistake. You hired the wrong Mary so you might want to check your database and find the error."

This was silly.

I didn't know Mr. Valois personally, but his son Francis Valois never struck me as the type to get rid of an intern the first day. I should be grateful instead of terrified, but Valois & Matheson was the most well-known and prestigious law firm of the state. Half their cases had appeared in the local paper, and most of them had been won or settled by Henry Valois or Andrew Matheson themselves. I'm in the Law and Legal Studies program at the George Washington University but even the classes didn't prepare for me for days like these. Half the staff already suspected I got the job because Francis and I had been on a few dates while the other half thought it was because I bought my way into it (neither were true).

Truth was, I might not have been accepted if this was the summer when the competition is more intense. Not many students are looking for internships that start the beginning of January, and I can imagine they're certainly not standing outside in the brisk winter air staring at the building as though they had never seen one before.

Perhaps I should not have taken an hour on deciding what to wear today. Mum had tossed half my clothes out of the way since I had enough clothing and accessories to fill my bedroom and our basement. It still took me a long time to match up the skirt and blouse with the shoes, a purse, and a scarf.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the glass door and walked into the firm. The first floor was your basic lobby, with a receptionist at a desk in the middle. She seemed to believe that a gray skirt and gray sweater looked warm and welcoming, instead of dreary and depressing.

"Hi, I'm Mary Stuart. I start work here today and Francis Valois said he would come meet me here."

She nodded and picked up the phone, punching in a few numbers. "Francis, I have a girl here saying you were meeting her in the lobby…Mary Stuart…Yes she is…" the receptionist turned to look at me for a second. "Should I tell her that?.. Ok thank you Francis." She hung up and turned back to me. "He's busy with some work right now but he said to go up to the 12th floor and he'll meet you there."

The 12th floor was where I'd had my interview with Mr. Castleroy. He was a nice man, and he struck me as the most laidback employee of the firm.

Unfortunately, I did not see him when I got off the elevator.

Instead, all I saw were people bristling about and office doors closing so attorneys could meet with clients.

And all I could do was stand there looking foolish.

"May I help you?" a man came up to me.

"I'm waiting for somebody. He should be here soon," I answered politely and the man just looked me over before deciding I was telling the truth.

Soon was not soon enough. After standing around for another five minutes, I headed back to the elevator.

"Mary! There you are!" Francis walked off the elevator with a big smile on his face. I guess it didn't occur to him how long I'd been waiting because he didn't seem to notice the frown on my face.

"Let me introduce you to a few people and then we'll go upstairs."

I followed him to a small office where he knocked on the door and opened it as soon as a woman called "come in!" she was a slim brunette with olive skin.

"Kenna, this is Mary Stuart. She'll be working with us until the beginning of May. Mary, this is Kenna, Mr. Matheson's assistant."  
"I take it you're implying that I'll be working with her?" Kenna was walking around the room in a hurry, collecting stacks of papers and files into her arms. "Unless there is another reason you have for introducing us?"

"You will be working with her Kenna, seeing as how she'll be helping my father and me at times after this first week."

I'll be doing what?!

Neither Mr. Castleroy nor Francis had ever told me specifically what it was I would be doing, or that I would personally be working with Mr. Valois himself.

Kenna finally looked at me and nodded. "Good luck." She turned her attention back to Francis. "Now if there's nothing else."

He motioned his hand to the door and she walked past us in a hurry.

"Don't worry about her," Francis whispered to me. "Kenna's one of our best employees and she's usually more friendly. Though is she eccentric so try not to do anything that will get her excited. She'll be difficult to calm down otherwise."

I could only nod.

"Well, it's only 9:25 so let me show you where things are and how to use the machines. I clocked you in at 9 but we'll be giving you an employee tag and a sheet for you to put down the hours you worked. Normally, we would just know but since this is a paid internship we'll pay you by the hours you worked. I'm assuming Mr. Castleroy explained all this to you during the interview?" We started to walk around, Francis being the only one of us that employees would smile at

"He did. He also mentioned that perhaps I could gain real-world experience by being involved in some cases."

"Well not many I'm afraid. Attorney-client privilege is something we take seriously. There are times when it'll be my father and me taking to someone and in that case, you can listen but we do ask you don't speak of cases outside of work, even if they do make it to the press."

"Francis, you may be going to Georgetown law school in the summer but that doesn't mean I haven't learned what you have either."

He smiled, "point taken."

We spent the next hour and a half around the copy and fax machines (because working at the university library obviously never taught me that), the cafeteria down on the first level, and the bathrooms (should I ever be in need of one every 10 minutes).

"It's 11:00 so let me take you upstairs to meet my father and then you can go out to lunch. You're welcome to take an hour but make sure to be back once the hour's done. There are many places to eat nearby that are quick but delicious."

He started lifting off the names of restaurants but I lost faith in him the minute he listed Popeyes as one of those places.

We took the elevator to the 15th floor, which was the top level. It was much different than the ones we'd visited. There weren't so many people but there was a conference room, and a couple of dark oak doors. Francis showed me to the end of the hallway and knocked on a door. If only I'd noticed the H. Valois sign next to it.

A man with sandy blonde hair, who was sitting on the couch, opened the door for us. "Francis! Come on in."

"Thank you. Father, this is Mary Stuart, our new intern." In all the ways I could have met Francis's parents, this was not one of them. I'd heard rumors of Catherine, his mother, but if they were true than I wasn't eager to meet her quite yet. His father, as I'd been told, had been extremely handsome in his early years (some said it was when he had a head full of hair) but his son-in-law Phil was extremely terrified of him for several months when he started dating Elizabeth Valois.

"So you're the infamous Mary Stuart I've heard about," Mr. Valois motioned for me to sit down. "Andy, let the lady sit down. Mary, this is Andrew Matheson."

I have never had such an urge to choke someone as I much as I did Francis right then. The two most respected men of the firm, who'd gathered quite the reputation in the state, were both looking at me.

"It's nice to meet you both," I answered, sure that they both were wondering how I ever managed to land this job acting the way I was- a bumbling idiot.

Francis took a pen from his father's desk and wrote something down, showing it to me without the others noticing.

_He's always in a better mood when Andrew's around. Count your blessings. _

As if my face wasn't already red enough.

"So Mary, Francis tells me your mother is Marie Stuart, the famous chef from the 2941 restaurant in Falls Church."

"Yes, Marie is my mother."

Mr. Valois nodded as he dug into a salad. "I've gone to that place before for business meetings. The food tastes fantastic so pass that message onto your mother."

For some reason, these short little conversations were making me feel uncomfortable. I didn't know how to answer. Too short and he wondered if I was capable of public speaking, too long and he would probably tape my mouth shut.

I could only nod.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Kenna appeared behind us, at the most perfect timing. "Mr. Matheson, your wife called and wanted to remind you not to be late to dinner tonight."

"It's a dinner with her mother. Can't wait," he mumbled, clearly meaning the opposite of what he said. "She hasn't gone a day this week without reminding me. Thank you Kenna."

Kenna nodded and as Francis talked to Mr. Matheson, she gave a small smile to Mr. Valois, who gave her one in return. I was the only one who noticed and looked down at my feet, pretending I hadn't seen anything They weren't polite ones, but smiles that appeared as if they shared a secret together.

Or maybe I was seeing things that weren't really there.

"You know, I think I'll show Mary the ropes a little more," Francis spoke up, saving my neck, and his from my wrath.

"Very nice to meet you both," I said as Francis showed me out the door.

"You too Mary," Mr. Matheson responded as Mr. Valois simply nodded at me.

I let out a breath I wasn't aware I was holding as Francis guided me to the other hand of the hall. Once we were out of earshot of his father and Mr. Matheson, he started to laugh.

"Mary, I mean no offense by this, but I really hope you won't be like that every time. Father's not scary; he's just intimidating in the beginning. Now, I have someone to meet for lunch. How about you take an early break and come back here in an hour?"

I was out the door before he reminded me where I could go. I took his words as a way of saying I wasn't invited to his lunch meeting anyway.

There weren't many people on the streets yet so I was able to stroll and look for somewhere to eat. After two blocks, my eyes got sight of a bakery called Sweetleaf. I never let anyone know of the secret stash of sweets in my bedroom. Mum would probably have me lower the quantity of it but sweet things my weakness.

And that's exactly what this bakery had.

I looked at the menu before getting in line, ultimately deciding to get a chocolate cupcake, a cheesecake brownie, and an Italian sandwich. I went into the line, behind two women and a man.

That's when I heard it- very loud music playing the most obnoxious song (something about being cheap when you shop). What surprised me more was that nobody was saying anything. It was coming from behind me. After a moment, I started to get irritated so I turned around to tell the person to tone their music down.

I was met with the filthiest clothes but the most beautiful eyes.

**I am SO sorry for trolling you but I felt like that was a good place to leave off (I'm mean). This was a slow and uneventful chapter and I apologize but I wanted to introduce the characters a little. Hope the next chapter is a little better for you guys. Can anyone guess the song Bash is listening to? And what could Kenna and Henry be smiling about? And I promise to pay more attention to what I'm writing next time lol**


	3. Secrets

**A/N: To the person who asked- there will be a few Bash POV chapters in the story but the first one won't be until Chapter 5. I hope the wait will be worth it, since that chapter will be longer. Thank you reviewing and for the favorites/follows! You are all amazing! I wanted this one up because of having no new ep tonight (though Season 2!) so I wrote it quickly and half A-d it (fill in the blanks) because of how busy work has been. More time will be spent on the next chapter! lol**

**I don't own Reign or the shows characters (made up some). All mistakes are mine**

_I need another story_

_Something to get off my chest_

_My life gets kinda boring_

Secrets- Onerepublic

I was met with the filthiest clothes but the most beautiful eyes.

It took me a few moments to remember why I'd turned around. He looked me in the eyes for a split second before looking at the ground. I spent that split second trying to decide whether his eyes were blue, green, or a combination of both.

"Can you turn the music down a little?" I asked politely. The headphones were around his neck so he was able to hear me.

"Sure," he answered back in a very quiet voice. He took out an ipod and the volume decreased dramatically. I gave him a polite thank you smile before turning around again. I was now third in line; though I knew I would have to wait sometime between ordering and for my order to actually be ready.

When it was finally my turn, I told the girl at the front what I wanted than stood to the side. There were plenty of places to sit so I felt no rush, and I was curious to see what the man behind me was going to get.

"The usual please, Amy," he told her.

That certainly gave me no idea. All I knew was that he came here often enough for the employees knew him.

Why did I care though?

My reason for caring was because of how out of place he looked. Most people were dressed well, or least in work clothes. They weren't walking around like they had been playing in the dirt, or as if they ran a marathon through massive amounts of dust. The man's hair was sticking up in all directions and the color on his shirt was nearly washed out.

He caught my gaze and I was the one to look away first this time. I did, however, notice the way he looked me up and down. The difference in our clothes was highly noticeable. I was in clothes that were new, and he was in clothes that must have been worn many times the past several years (and from donation stores most likely).

"Order 16," the girl called. That was mine.

The food was delicious but when the guy sat down, I kept on looking for him. It was past the point of just looking him over, now I was genuinely curious about him. He seemed to be in his own world and only looked at his food or the table, as if afraid to make eye contact with anyone else in the bakery.

As if afraid he didn't belong here.

I didn't even notice when part of my brownie fell onto my shirt. Well, I didn't notice for a few minutes until he looked up at me and smiled. I'd been caught staring and my face was not red from the little bit of sunlight streaming through the windows. I guess he looked away when he noticed I was staring at him with my mouth open a little, even when I'd forgotten to completely swallow my food. I was usually more ladylike than this, and I hope he didn't think otherwise.

But what did I care what a stranger thought of me?

I had to get out of there before I made an idiot of myself even further. I ate my food quickly and realized I still had 25 minutes before I had to be back at work. It would take at least 10 minutes to walk back and wait for the elevator.

I was at the door when I heard a voice.

"I see you enjoyed your cupcake."

I turned to the direction that came from and it was from the guy I'd spent most of my lunch staring at.

"I did, thank you for asking."

"Your expressions gave your enjoyment away, but so does the icing that's still around your mouth." He motioned to the side of his mouth and I took the hint, grabbing a napkin before turning around, blushing too hard to speak.

"Nice to meet you too," he said dryly before I gave him a quick smile and left.

It wasn't that I was being rude; I just didn't see how I could start a conversation with someone I'd never met before. I'm not good at keeping a conversation going when I don't know someone, and I would have spent half the conversation staring into his eyes. For somebody so disheveled, he was quite attractive. He seemed to be

"I think you meant to go to the 15th floor," a voice took me out of my thoughts for the second time that day. Kenna was coming out of a bathroom and I looked towards the elevator. I was on the 4th floor, one that Francis hadn't taken me to. "Sorry to take you out of your daydreams but I felt I should stop you before you walked into a wall."

"It's all right," I said. "What are you doing on this floor?"

"I could ask the same of you but I assume something, or someone, is on your mind. Walk with me; I'm going up to the 15th floor after I talk to some people here. I'll let Francis know you're back."

After she texted Francis, we started to walk around. Kenna really had no idea how to knock since she literally opened a door and walked right into it.

"Alec, I don't know who you gave the Cartwright assignment to, but whoever it is needs to step up. We have a meeting with new client named Mr. Cartwright next Monday."

"You want to talk to Leith and he's out sick for the day with the stomach flu. He mentioned something about throwing up his dinner all night." Alec was around his mid-40s, with brown eyes and balding brown hair.

Kenna wrinkled her nose. "Let Leith know I could have done without that knowledge."

He nodded and we left his office.

"The next person I have to see is Simon Westbroook. Oh and," Kenna grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into a corner, "he can be aggressive at times, especially when it comes to getting his way. He's very good looking but don't let that fool you."

Simon was very attractive, though I didn't appreciate the way he looked me up and down as if I didn't belong here.

"Unfortunately, you'll be seeing him more often than not," Kenna told me in the elevator. "And Mr. Valois and Mr. Matheson love him."

Unfortunately, I didn't love him as the week went on. I didn't see him again until Thursday but he let me do most of the dirty work. It wasn't such a big deal, since Francis did say I'd be making copies and acting as a secretary the first week, but Simon gave me so much rubbish I almost spoke up and told him to do it himself. One day of working for him and I could tell by the looks he got from the other women that they would probably do his laundry for him if he asked them to.

"Is he always like this?!" I walked into the room where Francis was currently typing ferociously.

"Is who like what?" he didn't look away from the computer screen.

"Is Simon always this demanding, while being flirtatious at the same time?" he didn't hit on me, just on the ones who made googly eyes at him.

"All the time actually," Francis answered, still typing at an incredibly fast rate. "Why do you ask?"

"He's attractive and he seems to use that to his advantage! Shouldn't there be some sort of rule of not manipulating people?"

"He's not manipulating. As long as he isn't pulling stunts at court, his personal life is of no interest to us."

"What does his personal life have to do with anything?"

"Oh, it's one fling after another with Simon. There are some women here who will gladly tell you of their trysts with him."

"That's appalling."

Francis shrugged. "Not uncommon as Simon isn't the only one. Vincent married a woman, had a son with her, and then left them. Judith, nice girl as she is, had a second job on the side that we won't speak of; you'll learn soon enough that there are a lot of strange employees here at the company."

"Sounds exciting."

"Mary, I need you to do me a favor," Francis ignored my sarcasm.

"What is it?"

He pointed to a large filing cabinet behind him, somehow managing to still look at the computer screen and type with only one hand. "Each drawer contains some files that need to be put in alphabetical order. Unfortunately, we had to fire the last person who would have done this. She was stealing from us and those files need to be done by Monday when Mr. Cartwright comes in. You can wait while I finish this if you'd like and then I can let you have the room to yourself so you can spread the files onto the floor."

"Actually, I'll go to the ladies room first," I went into the one on the same floor and jumped when I collided into someone.

"I am SO sorry!" I looked at the woman, with reddish-brown hair and blue eyes. She looked stern, her lips pursed into a straight line and her eyes showing no signs of amusement.

"Be more careful where you walk. I have a meeting with work after I see my husband," she snapped.

"Again, I am sorry for running into you. May I help you find your husband?"

"No, it's all right. Henry knows I'm coming."

"Henry? As in Mr.-"

"Valois, yes. I'm his wife, Catherine."

**More Bash and Catherine to come next chapter. I promise to pay more attention to that one lol. And Chapter 5 will be a Bash POV. Should I continue? Stop? Sound off below! Judith, Simon, and Vincent have all been in on the show. Judith was the prostitute from "hearts and minds."**


	4. People are Strange

**A/N: I made a playlist since each chapter has a song in its title (you can find the link of my profile page). The songs will be out the same day I post the chapter, except earlier, so you can know when to expect it. BTW, totally forgot they ever showed Henry before 1x12 so that's why he's not in this story. And Elizabeth is older because, let's be honest, she didn't look like the little sister in the pilot. **

**I'll let you read now. Enjoy! **

**I do not own Reign or the characters. All mistakes (grammar wise) are mine. **

_Women seem wicked_

_When you're unwanted_

People are Strange- the Doors

It took me a moment to collect myself. Catherine Valois, formerly known as Catherine Medici, was right in front of me. All I knew about her was that she and Mr. Valois had met at 20 while studying abroad in France, where they were wed 4 years later. She originally came from an Italian aristocratic family. Their daughter Elizabeth was born two years later, and then came Francis and Charlie.

"Do you know where I might find him?"

"Where you might find who?"

It took me a moment to realize my mistake as Mrs. Valois rolled her eyes. "Just tell my husband I'm waiting for him in his office."

I have never been so intimidated by someone before, not even her husband. There was something in Mrs. Valois's voice that indicated she wasn't one to cross. I didn't see her when I got out of the bathroom. Instead, I had somebody run past me and go into the room I'd been working in, closing the door after themselves.

I waited for a moment before knocking. "Excuse me."

"Who is it?" it was a man's voice.

"My name is Mary. I was working in there. I hate to be a nuisance, but I really need to be done by Monday and if you look at the filing cabinet, there are a lot of them to be done so if you could just let me in, I would really appreciate it."

The door opened slightly, just enough space to let me in.

"Thank you," I said to the stranger.

The stranger who had been behind me in line at the bakery on Monday. His eyes were most definitely a shade of blue.

"Hi!" I greeted him.

He gave me an odd look in return. "Hi. Do you mind closing the door? I don't want Catherine to see me."

"Mrs. Valois? Why would you not want to see her?" I could understand his reasons if they involved being frightened by her.

"She isn't too fond of me. Last time we saw each other, I had to endure her rants about me not being good enough to be around her family's neighborhood. I think she even banned me from being 100 feet within their front yard."

That struck me as odd. Mrs. Valois seemed stern and intimidating, but not cruel. I had only met her for a few seconds but that was the impression I had gotten.

"Hold that thought," I heard Francis and his father coming down the hall, so I poked my head out of the door. "Mr. Valois, your wife is waiting for you in your office."

Mr. Valois simply nodded, but I noticed he went from striding down the hall to trudging his feet, as if he never wanted to go into his office to see his wife.

I guess their marriage is strained after all.

I closed the door again.

"Did Mrs. Valois really say those things to you?"

He shrugged. "I'm surprised she didn't threaten to buy hounds just to set them on me. I've heard worse from her, I just prefer it when it's not on a daily basis. By the way, I'm Bash."

"I'm Mary Stuart," we shook hands. "So tell me more. What else has Mrs. Valois said to you?"

"You can call her Catherine. That's what I do."

"I could, but I've always learned to call adults by their last names with a Mr. or Ms. in front. Except for Simon, but that's because I'm working with him, not for him."

"Do you mean Simon Westbrook? Good god, you're not another one of his nightly conquests, are you?"

So even strangers knew about Simon's reputation. Lovely.

"I respect myself much more than being some man's 'nightly conquest', thank you very much. Especially Simon's, that man needs to get knocked in the head."

Bash started to laugh. "He has his moments of good graces, trust me. He just doesn't show it often. Count your blessings you haven't gone to a bar with him."

"You're switching the subject. Tell me more about Catherine, like why she dislikes you so much."

He hesitated. "I don't want to spit on her name but she's quite the handful. I know her reasons for hating me and I don't blame her, I would hate me too. But to answer your question, she's quite elegant to the public eye. Her parents were well-respected people from their original homeland. I can give you a lot of dirt on her, but I won't do that yet."

"What brings you here then?" he certainly wasn't dressed in office clothes. Quite the opposite, though not as dirty as when I first saw him. He still had a scruff which, I admit, suited him very well.

"I'm here to talk to Henry," he answered. "I think it's best to wait until Catherine leaves though."

That's when we heard voices outside of the door, two people arguing which I recognized as Mr. and Mrs. Valois, and they were _not_ happy. Bash kept his ear to the door, and unable to resist, I did the same.

"I don't want him coming over to our house, he has his own place."

"Have you _seen_ that place he calls home? He's my flesh and blood, and I want him to come over for his birthday."

"To do what? Have a birthday party? He doesn't even know anyone outside his little community, let alone enough people to come by to see him turn 25. Let him celebrate with his mother in his own home. He's not a child, he doesn't need coddling."

"I made these plans with him _two_ weeks ago, Catherine. I can't just cancel them."

"So you'd rather everyone we know find out about your bastard son and your mistress? Or just your son?"

"10 people, as well as our family. That's all I'm asking."

"I am not having him near Charlie!" She screamed out that last bit and it fell silent after, which I took as a sign that she'd left. Bash kept his ear to the door, a look crossing his face that I couldn't quite make of. It was almost a mix of disappointment and amusement.

"Well that was quite the discussion," he finally said, after we stood there in awkward silence for what felt like hours.

"Do you know who they were talking about?"

He shook his head.

"Sounds like any plans Henry had with him are off though. I should probably leave before they see me."

"I thought you were here to see Henry?"

He gave me a tight smile. "It can wait."

"Wait!" his hand had been on the doorknob before I stopped him. "Do you want me to take a message? I can tell him you were here and then perhaps he can re-schedule."

He hesitated. "Is there any way you can do that without mentioning my name?"

That took me by surprise, as I had no idea if Mr. Valois would accept a meeting with a nameless man.

"I don't think I can but if you come back on Tuesday, I'm sure I'll have managed to fit you into his schedule. We have to meet with somebody on Monday so Mr. Valois won't have much time left, but he should the next day. I'll ask him for you. Is there a last name I can give him as well?"

"Poitiers. Sebastian Poitiers."

"Sebastian Poitiers," I repeated. "I'll talk to him and let him know you're dropping by on Tuesday. That way, he has no say."

Bash laughed. "Don't command him, that's a way to get yourself into trouble."

"Then I'll pass the message to Mr. Matheson."

"Tell Aylee."

"Aylee?"

"She's his daughter, very sweet girl. She comes by often to bring him snacks since he's a hypoglycemic and needs certain foods to keep his blood sugar level stable. He'll argue with her, but he knows it's necessary and she's his only child, automatically making her daddy's girl."

"How will I recognize her?"

"Long blonde hair, small, 17. She's probably the only person who actually smiles around this place."

Bash opened the door, turning back before he was out of eyesight. "I hope to see you again, Mary Stuart. Just words of advice- don't get yourself down even when you work with people like Simon, and you don't need to be afraid of Henry. His son-in-law nearly wet his pants the first time he met him, but he's a good man underneath the tough skin."

"Thank you Sebastian," he gave me a quick smile before he left and I suddenly had a feeling I would be seeing him a lot more often.

**Hope this chapter wasn't disappointing. The next one (Bash POV! With flashbacks from his younger years) should be out soon and it's already 2,000 words. Quick question- do you want faster updates or just on Fridays or Saturdays? This one is out today because we have no new episode and 1x13 onwards is going to freaking hurt so this is my remedy. **

** Let me know what you think!**


	5. In My Place

**A/N: Here's the chapter you all were hoping for. Our baby's (Bash) POV with flashbacks. Bash calls his parents by their first names, which may seem strange. While he loves his mother and is close to her, she's often gone and so he learned independence early and calls her by her first name because sometimes he had to raise himself. Maybe we'll see if Bash changes that at some point ;)  
**

**I do not own Reign or the characters, or the song of the chapter. I just like playing with them in my fanfic. All mistakes are mine, even the swear words I misspelled into google to get the correct version so I wouldn't be swearing lol. This chapter is mainly Isabel trying to pry into Bash's life.**

_I was scared, I was scared_

_Tired and under-prepared_

_But I'll wait for it_

In My Place- Coldplay

Oh, the irony.

I can't say I'm surprised. Henry wanted to make my 25th birthday a big deal, but I knew it was too good to happen. Especially when Henry failed to mention that Catherine didn't know about it, probably because he knew she wouldn't approve. The conversation Mary and I had overheard proved it.

Mary Stuart. Of course I had recognized her, how could someone not? It wasn't because of the way she told me to tone down my music, or her overly-priced clothing, but the light around her that had nothing to do with the sun coming through the window. Ok yes, both of the times I'd seen her she was wearing clothes that would have cost me a week's paycheck. I would have usually been a smartass about turning my music down but her brown doe eyes changed my mind.

She was most definitely not a girl who would think twice about being around someone like me, which is why I wanted to prove that wrong. I mean, in my head I did, because I knew it wouldn't be possible in real life.

This was one of those ideas I get that seem good at that time, but then turn out to be the biggest mistake of the week (it happens so often that I no longer say "biggest mistake of my life"). I was never going to learn my lesson.

Even when it came to realizing there was no food at home, at least not enough to make a proper dinner. Diane had said she'd get groceries today but she wasn't home yet, and there was literally nothing in the pantry or fridge this morning. Money was tight right now, more so than usual, but I'd gotten some tips tonight (from drunk people who weren't aware how much they were giving) so I turned around and went to the store to get a few things. We live in Idylwood (near Falls Church) in a small one-story home. There are some nicer ones not far from us, but they're too expensive. Diane works full-time as a secretary for an electrical company but still doesn't earn a ton.

I went inside the Whole Foods Market and bought myself a container of cupcakes (I wasn't about to spend $20 on a cake), a salad bag, and some fruit. I could always come back tomorrow for whatever else Diane had put on our grocery list.

Once I was back home, I searched for the matches (found them in the fridge- honestly Diane) and lit a candle on a cupcake, closing the blinds and turning off the lights.

I've always found the idea of making a wish ridiculous, but I guess people find it exciting. But if I was turning the exciting age of 25, I guess there was no harm in making a wish without any pressure from anyone.

Here's to a better year than 2013 was…

_September 1994_

_ First day of school, first day of Kindergarten. I was waiting at the bus stop with all the other kids. The only difference was that their parents were with them, or at least one parent per child. Diane was out job hunting again so I was off to the side, waiting by myself watching parents take pictures of their kid (and in a lot of the mothers cases, start crying). _

_ "Remember to eat your fruit, not just your cookies!"_

_ "One more picture! Can you look at the camera for mommy?"_

_ "Emily, you have to let him go sometime."_

_ "Daddy, you're hugging me too tight."_

_ I'd looked at the others, wondering what the big deal was about going to school. Did they all skip preschool or daycare? I went to daycare and then, since Diane was gone most of the day, went to my cousin Isabel's house. Her dad had always put something good on TV._

_ The bus finally came and the big kids were all at the back. I sat in the front, picking to sit in a seat that was completely empty._

_ And it stayed that way for the whole ride, and the whole school year._

It took me a moment to realize my phone was ringing. It was Diane.

"I'll be home in about 2 hours," it was almost 5 o'clock. "When is Henry coming by to come get you?"

"We're not doing that anymore," I answered flatly.

"Why? What happened?"

"Catherine happened. It's not a big deal though."

"I can get some Chinese food on my way home, if you'd like."

I had to laugh. Diane really had her moments, especially when she wasn't trying to seduce Henry into giving a damn about us. "Don't worry. I'll make myself some dinner, I bought a few things."

"I'll talk to Henry; maybe he can do some re-arranging."

"No!" I realized I almost yelled that, so I lowered my voice. "No, it's fine. I have a few movies I can watch, just please don't call him about it. I don't want people making a big deal out of nothing."

"It's not nothing Bash, but I won't call him if you don't want me to. I'll be home as soon as I get off work. I love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

Cupcakes and a salad for my birthday dinner, what a life. I took a while to choose which one of my favorite two movies to watch- the Professional (Gary Oldman is one of my favorite actors, especially in this movie) or Enter the Dragon because any day can be a Bruce Lee day. I chose the Profession, since I could watch it without Diane coming in and telling me to turn it off because the language is not appropriate.

I even texted Isabel to come over, since I hadn't responded to her earlier text wishing me a happy birthday. She's a few years younger than me, having turned 22 in September. It was a good thing she had already gotten her degree before Christmas. The baby was expected to be born in early March.

She came with confetti, food, and a gift. She had me open the gift first- which ended up being new hockey skates, which is my favorite sport to play and watch (especially when they start fighting). Then Isabel threw confetti at me so it looked like I'd bathed in it.

"You look like you're about to pop," I told my pregnant cousin.

She smirked. "You're looking quite good yourself Bash. Now, do you want to microwave the popcorn or not?"

"You're not going to throw it up on me, are you?"

She rolled her eyes. "I haven't been sick since the 4th month, jackass. I'm craving popcorn and a movie is the perfect reason to have it. Now, why don't you go and microwave it and I'll get the bag of chips open. I brought bacon too."

"That's an odd choice."

"Pregnancy cravings."

We spent about 10 minutes arguing over who would do the bacon. She wanted to do it since it was my birthday, but I wanted her off her feet since she was 7 months along (with a baby girl) and my uncle would kill me if I had her cooking. My uncle is Diane's older brother and he can get scary. The father of my future niece took off, but part of me just thinks he's buried in my uncle's backyard. I hope that's what happened to him, especially because of how much he hurt my cousin when he left.

I won the argument for once in my life. She started the movie without me while I cooked the bacon. With Diane gone a lot, I'd learned skills like cooking and fending for myself early on. It's not that Diane's a terrible mother, far from it, but she got pregnant with me at 20 because of her affair with Henry. She did the best she could, without any help from her parents which is why we're extremely grateful to my uncle for his help. He and his wife divorced when Isabel was a child so life wasn't easy for him either.

"So Bash, any new girls in your life? Besides the last fling I hated?" Isabel asked.

I sat down next to her on the couch that we really needed to throw out. It was looking ragged.

"Why did you hate the last one?"

Isabel gave me a Look. "Because of what she did to you, which you've apparently forgotten about. You deserve a girl who actually likes you for you."

"Never going to happen."

"I think it could happen."

She was still looking at me. "Isabel, I'm not signing up for dating sites. I haven't reached that level of desperation."

"And you always have women flirting with you at work, I know, you've told me. Do you really think I would let you sign up for a dating site? I know you'll find somebody at some point. I just hope she's not like the last few."

"Isabel, you've hated every girl I've ever dated or hooked up with."

'That's because you're not just my cousin. You're a brother to me, so it's my job to hate every girl you like."

"Nice. Eat your bacon."

We watched in silence for about 20 minutes before Isabel spoke again. She grabbed a cupcake and then spoke with her mouth full.

"I didn't understand any of that," I told her.

She swallowed. "You never answered my question."

"You're not going to let me watch this movie until I answer, are you?"

"Nope," she emphasized the P so I knew she was serious.

This is what happens with a pregnant woman. You can't win and you shouldn't even try because it will never happen.

"There is absolutely no girl I'm dating. Happy?"

"No. You said there's no girl you're dating but what about interested in?"

"Hey, what is with the sudden interest in my love life?" I made eye contact with her. "There is no girl I'm attracted to."

"You're blushing."

I love my cousin dearly, but she's relentless. "No I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

I was fighting a losing battle. "Fine, if I tell you something, will you promise not to bring it up again until after the movie?"

"I promise! Just tell me!"

This was going to be a long conversation. "So on Monday I went to the bakery, the one near Henry's office, I think I took you to it once. Anyway, this girl named Mary Stuart was in line in front of me and she actually turned around to tell me my music was too loud."

"I think I already like her."

"Trust me you don't. She's cute, but she's definitely not like us in terms of money. You should see the way she dresses. It's almost pompous, like she wants everyone to know how much she can afford."

"Now there's the sarcastic bastard I love," Isabel beamed at me. "Just think though. If she has her own wealth, she sure won't care about getting a guy who doesn't have any."

"Isn't it just the opposite? Money marries money, just look at Henry and Catherine. I'm not looking to date her, but she sure won't date someone close to a pauper."

Isabel made a face. "Let's not compare her to Catherine quite yet. We don't want to doom her to a loveless marriage."

My cousin had a point. "I see your meaning but my point still stands. I'll see her on Tuesday and that will be probably be it."

"Then be her friend."

"Her friend?"

"Every girl wants a guy friend who'll do things that a boyfriend normally would, without actually being a boyfriend."

"Except that job consists of buying expensive jewelry, accompanying her to lavish parties, and carrying everything for her and I'm not carrying her millions of shopping bags."

"You're judging her based on one experience?"

"No, I met her again earlier today. She works at Henry's firm and she was still dressed the same. I see the same look with Catherine all the time, they look like they're about to go on the runway. And judging by how well kept her hands were, I don't think she's ever touched anything before without fancy white gloves. Not to mention she heard Catherine and Henry's conversation about me, not knowing it was even about me."

"Maybe she's naturally gorgeous, and who cares if she overheard? If she knows you're Henry's son, she'll put two and two together. Just ask her to hang out as friends. No big deal."

"No."

"I won't stop talking until you do."

I don't know why I even bother trying with her. She almost always wins.

"All right, fine. I have to go in on Tuesday to talk to Henry; she didn't leave me much choice so I'll talk to her then if I can find her."

"Go Monday and report back to me."

"Isabel, I love you and everything, but if she spits in my face and gives me the middle finger, I'm blaming all of this on you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way.

That's how I ended up at the office on Monday. She wasn't too hard to find. She was talking to Kenna and they were about to enter a conference room. Isabel and I had gone on Saturday to the store to buy a gift card and pretend it was something someone had given to me, not my idea.

"Bash!" She looked surprised. "I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow."

"I still will be if Henry's not busy. I actually came here to see you."

She raised her eyebrows. "Me?"

That came off wrong. "It's nothing important. I just have a really quick question to ask you, if you have time."

She glanced at the door to the conference room. "We have a meeting with Mr. Cartwright about a new case that's come up but I can spare a minute," she turned to Kenna, "I'll be right back."

Kenna completely ignored me (which was definitely fine with me) as she went into the conference room.

Mary and I went into a corner. Isabel had made me practice how to approach the subject (she's unbelievable sometimes) but of course, who can keep to that?

"So what is it?" She seemed anxious.

"This might come off strange, but I got a gift card for Christmas and I have absolutely nobody to go with since my cousin has plans on the day I was able to. I usually work on Saturday afternoons, but I got this one off. Do you want to go with me, just for a quick lunch? As friends of course."

I was almost certain she could smell the BS that was coming off of me, but if she did she didn't say anything. I already looked like a stammering idiot.

"Where is it to?"

"Mylo's Grill. It's right here in Mclean," I didn't add the part that my cousin actually works there.

"A Grill?" Mary raised her eyebrows, looking skeptical.

I took that as a sign she'd never been to one. I don't know what I was expecting. Of course she hadn't been to anything less than a 4-star.

"They have really good food and it's affordable," I offered, knowing prices wouldn't matter to somebody like her.

"Well, all right. I'm interested to see what they have. I love dining out."

It took a lot of willpower not to cringe, since this place wasn't considered anything remotely close fancy. "I can meet you in front of this building at 12, if that works."

Mary nodded. "It works."

I walked out of there with an actual smile, not sure whether I'd just made the worst or best decision.

**Much longer than the others! The chapters will start to be this length, or longer. What do you think? Did Bash make the worst or best decision? ;) And yes, there will be more flashbacks in each Bash POV chapter. Next update is Saturday!**


	6. Owner of a Lonely Heart

**A/N: If any of you are Seinfeld fans like yours truly, then you can guess where I got the name Cartwright from and you can picture him looking close to our favorite short, stocky, bald man. You're welcome. Also, sorry for the lack of updates, work has been busy and I'm having a hard time thinking what to write (and I'm trying a Reign Clue!AU) My work is saved on a specific computer since I need Microsoft word, and my co-worker took this computer on Saturday (but then used his own laptop anyway._. ). **

_Say you don't want to chance it_

_You've been hurt so before_

Owner of a Lonely Heart- Yes

I was distracted as I went into the meeting and Kenna started to ask me how I knew Bash. I didn't have time to explain before Francis and Mr. Valois walked in. I knew Francis had already spoken with Mr. Cartwright, but he was quite the character. One too many coffees before breakfast. I think Francis gave up taking notes about halfway through because he glanced at his father, whose face was growing more and more puzzled by the second. They just watched him pace across the room.

"They claim to hold charity fundraising events then don't even give the money to the charities they're raising money for!"

Mr. Valois held up a hand. "Wait, let's calm down. Sit down and tell us who _they_ are?"

"I don't know who's in charge! It's a bunch of rich people; they have a name to them but my money is being taken. Can't you do anything?!" Mr. Cartwright pounded his fists onto the table. I jumped, the boys kept calm.

"Do you want to sue? I'm confused as to your intentions."

"Sue, charge them with fraud, embezzlement, whatever!" He ranted for a few more minutes before Mr. Valois wrote a note and passed it to Kenna.

She stood up. "Mr. Cartwright, why don't you and I go downstairs and see if you can come in another day to tell us more? Mr. Valois will take this case up with Mr. Matheson and get back to you."

"What do you think?" Francis asked his father once Kenna and Mr. Cartwright were out of earshot

"Let's wait until I've talked to Andy. This might actually be worth something," Mr. Valois was lost in his own thoughts. "In the meantime, let's not offer him coffee or any type of caffeine when he comes back."

I remembered my conversation with Bash and ran after Mr. Valois.

"Excuse me, Mr. Valois?" he turned around. "Somebody came by to visit you on Friday but didn't get the chance to see you. Is there a chance he can come by tomorrow?"

"What's his name?"

"Sebastian Poitiers."

Mr. Valois stopped walking and turned to face me. "Bash was here? How did I not see him?"

"He tried to hide from Catherine. I got the impression their relationship is tense."

"It is. I'll call him and let him know I can see him tomorrow, after work. Thank you for telling me Mary."

"Of course."

I hadn't passed the message to Aylee, but I hadn't seen her yet.

I also had to wait until Saturday to get the story on Catherine and Bash. Five days. Five long days…

Why didn't I get his number? (Or he ask for mine?) I was trying to find the free public parking lot I'd found since the office was closed. Of course, I'd gotten lost. My sense of direction is awful and it's one of the few things I get made fun of for (besides my dancing, which I don't see anything wrong with).

12:04 and I still hadn't found the spot. I didn't find it until 12:11 but luckily, Bash was pacing outside the office building when I arrived.

"I got lost."

I could feel the judgment and laughter coming from his eyes, but he didn't say anything. He led the way to Mylo's Grill, making small conversation as we walked. I took in the surroundings when we walked into the Grill. It was very…casual. Much more than I was used to. It was split into a dining room and a bar. There weren't too many people so it didn't take very long for us to get a seat at one of the booths. Our server was a _very_ pregnant girl around my age. She seemed quite happy for somebody who had to be on their feet for long periods of time, but my first concern was no longer about my food as much as it was about her. She remained in a good mood though as she took her orders (ribs for Bash and a chicken souvlaki soup for me).

Bash must have noticed the worried look on my face. "Don't worry. She still has two months to go before her due date."

I got an odd feeling in my stomach. "How do you know when she's due?"

Bash didn't look at me; too busy looking at a dessert menu. "I know her really well."

"How well?"

He looked at me over the menu. "Very well. Why?"

I couldn't help myself. "Is she pregnant with your child?"

His eyes widened and his laughter turned into coughing. Even I couldn't believe how blunt I'd just been. "No! Oh absolutely not. Mary, no. I do know who the father is but he's disappeared off to who knows where, so he's basically a deadbeat. That is something I would never do – leave the mother of my child to fend for herself and the baby."

I felt myself blush, embarrassed that I had automatically assumed the worst scenario when he was more noble than that. "I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize. I can see why you assumed it."

"So does she know if the baby is a boy or girl?"

"You can call her Isabel. She's having a baby girl."

"That's darling! She can buy her baby all these nice dresses."

The food came. Bash picked up his ribs with his hands, which I thought was a little appalling but that's because I've never seen anyone be so messy with their food, and not have a problem with it.

"To answer your question, I'm not sure how many nice dresses Isabel will be able to afford. I'm sure her dad will help her out but she hates asking for his help. The baby will just wear pink and purple, but nothing fancy."

"Nothing fancy?"

Bash stopped eating and a knowing smile crossed his face. "You wouldn't know anything about having to lay off expensive clothing, would you?"

"What I'm wearing isn't expensive. The coat was on sale for $60."

"That's my point. How many college girls your age can buy a $60 coat that was on sale?"

"I enjoy buying things. I like to shop and eat at restaurants."

"And how much are your restaurant bills?"

How was I supposed to remember the cost of every single bill? "Higher than I will to admit to you. What's your point?"

"Do you go out with friends?"

"My friends Lola and Greer live in Vienna. Why?"

"You spend money on yourself to make yourself happy."

"Are you going to psychoanalyze me now?"

Bash ignored me and went on. "Each time I've seen you, you seem to be wearing something that would cost me my weekly paycheck."

"What does it matter?"

"I'm also guessing you haven't had a boyfriend in a while."

He was getting to me. "The last guy I dated was named Tomas and he broke up with me for another girl that he was dating behind my back."

"So he broke your heart?"

'Well, what about you?" I snapped. "What do you do for fun?"

He went back to eating his food. "I hardly have time for fun. I work at a sports grille and amuse myself by watching all the drunken people get into fights."

I wrinkled my nose. "That's fun to you?"

"Would you rather I tell you about all the women I have trying to climb over the counter when they're wasted?"

"And let me guess- you take them up on their offer."

He looked at me in mock surprise. "I wouldn't risk my job like that. But yes, occasionally I come across a woman who won't leave me alone otherwise."

I put my spoon down. "That's disgusting."

"Yeah, I feel awful about it afterwards."

I threw my napkin at him and he laughed.

Bash picked up one of his ribs and looked at me expectantly. "Here, you should try one. They're really good."

"It's all right. I have this soup." I was not about to make my hands as dirty as his.

He rolled his eyes. "Mary, a _newborn_ could have your soup and still be hungry."

"You don't stop much time around newborns then. They're always hungry."

Bash dropped the rub back on his plate and held up his hands in surrender. "Fine, don't. Have it your way, but I thought you would be more adventurous."

I knew he was trying to push my buttons, but I took it as a challenge. And I never back down from a challenge (unless it asks me to get messy).

I picked up my plate and held it towards him. "Fine, put it on my plate." He smiled before picking it up and dropping it onto my plate. I picked up my knife and fork and slowly cut it up (carefully, to avoid getting sauce on my coat). Bash looked amused that I decided on using a knife and fork, but what did he expect me to do? He focused on my reaction.

The food was delicious. I ate it quickly and felt disappointed that he had no more left on his plate.

"Better than you expected?"

"Much better."

We fell into a comfortable silence as I finished my soup and he ordered an apple pie for dessert. His comment about the women at his work made me curious.

"Bash, who was the last girl you actually dated?"

He seemed surprised by my question but gave me a tight smile. "That's not really something I want to talk about but it didn't work out for a reason."

"That bad?"

"She's a free spirit but sometimes she took it a bit too far. I mean, if you're dating somebody you don't go around…" his pie came and he let me have a bite before eating it himself.

"Around doing some of the things she did," he finished.

"Why did you break it off?" I was genuinely interested now and I waited for his answer as I took a sip of my water.

"She seduced my father."

Not once in my life has my drink gone anywhere but my mouth, except for the moment I heard that. My drink went down my chin instead.

Bash picked up a piece of pie with his fork and gave it to me. "You look like you could use another."

**My head is hurting so sorry for any mistakes. Reviews are motivation and medicine so let me know what you think! Let us all cry together after 1x13. **


	7. Money

**Yay! Glad that last chapter made you guys feel conflicted. Bash is a little judgmental and so is Mary, and even as their friendship develops (eventually into something more) they'll still be in denial about it hence the judgments- if that makes sense. I was watching When Harry met Sally before writing this fic and both the beginning scenes and the way they snap each other into reality was my inspiration, as well as how different they see things but learn to accept the other person's viewpoints. **

** Chapter 8 is already done. The next few chapters are more happy then dramatic, because I needed a cure from 1x13. I also made Marie and Francis a bit more likeable (hopefully). **

** Oh, and I'm a Criminal Justice Major but knowing Law isn't my field of study so pardon my ignorance here lol. Enjoy Chapter 7! I had a hard time writing this one so hopefully it's decent. All mistakes are mine and I don't own Reign or the characters (maybe a few I made up…)**

_Money it's a crime_

_Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie_

Money- Pink Floyd

I felt conflicted about Bash. On one hand he was like one of those sly asholes from those ridiculous reality shows television has too many of these days. On the other hand, he didn't shy away from what he was really thinking. He nearly referred to me as a rich girl with a credit card. I've always been told to be more ladylike with my mouth and what I say in public, but Bash struck me as somebody who would give me the free-will to say whatever I wanted to say. I had to admit, I admired that.

_She seduced my father._

I didn't even want to touch that part of the conversation. It was difficult enough that I wanted to throw up at the thought of Mr. Valois doing something like that.

Mum was home when I got back. Every time I see her dressed up like she is right now, I have to remind myself that she isn't my sister. Even with all the stress that gets put on her at work, she's aged gracefully, and I hope I do the same.

"Why are you in a dress?" I asked her, setting my bag on a sofa in the living room.

"Did I not tell you? The events director is retiring so we're having a party for her. I got the night off so that I could attend." She turned away from the stove and I caught a glimpse of some Scottish shortbread cookies.

"It's only early afternoon, aren't parties supposed to be at night?"

"I'm in charge of making sure everything is set up and orderly."

All of this for one person's retirement. I wonder what will happen when Mum retires, even though that would be for a long time. She attends social events all the time for work, even in other countries. When I have time off from school, I go with her. These past two years alone we've gone to Bangkok, Paris, New York, Rome, Sydney, and Rio de Janeiro. And that was with me, sometimes she goes by herself because I'm busy with work or school. Mum prefers it when I go with her because I enjoy helping her pick out a dress and lending her my jewelry.

"You wouldn't happen to have a diamond necklace, would you sweetheart?" She asked.

"I don't know what insults me more. That you think I don't, or that you didn't wait for me to come home and help you get ready."

"My hair is still a train wreck. I'm only in a dress; I'm missing everything else that I need that you can help with. Forgive me?"

How could I say no? "You're forgiven."

We walked upstairs to her room where I sat on the bed and watched her go through her drawers and start getting jewelry out.

"So was that Francis you were with earlier?"

Mum knew about the dates Francis and I had been on. She had met him when he picked me up on the first date (she said to me she was only "doing what your father would have done"). Earlier today, I had told her I was having lunch with a friend but never said anything else. There weren't any other men in my life taking me out so of course she would guess Francis.

I have a hard time lying to my mother though. She can always tell when I'm trying to hide something. The first time I tried to hide something from her I was a child. She had to sign my agenda in Elementary school and when I'd forgotten to ask her one day, I did the signature for her. I never did it again when she found out. She didn't yell, or hit me upside the head; she just didn't talk to me. I could only hold out for so long before crying because I could feel the disappointment radiating from her.

"No, it was someone else."

She looked at me through the mirror, putting on her earrings as she did so. "Mary I know that look. It was a boy, wasn't it?"

"Yes, but it's not like that!" I was telling the truth, but that never stopped my mother.

"Then why are you turning red?" She sat down on the bed next to me. "What's his name?"

"Bash."

Her brows furrowed. "Bash? That sounds like a-"

"Nickname. His real name is Sebastian but he likes being called Bash."

"Is he cute?" She started braiding my hair. She usually starts playing with my hair when we're about to have a long discussion.

"He's definitely not _un_attractive. You should see his eyes; they're the most beautiful pair I've ever seen. But I just met him two weeks ago and we're only friends."

"Many people say that."

"It's true!" I turned around even though she hadn't finished braiding my hair. "You should know. You have many friends that are men."

"We're not talking about me."

I stood up, going over to where she had her jewelry out. Her dress was dark blue and strapless so I separated all the silver and white pieces from the others. "I have a silver clutch you can use," I told her. I pulled out the stool that she sits on when she's doing her hair and set it in front of her. "Now, tell me how you want your hair."

"Curled, and use bobby pins to put it up. Think you can do it?"

"You're doubting me again. How many times have I done your hair for these parties and failed you?"

"Never. You've never failed me."

It took me a long time to do her hair but the end result made me proud. Once we had her shoes picked out, I gave her the clutch, and the diamond necklace. I took a picture of my mother once she was walking out the door.

Monday was a federal holiday so I didn't have work. We had Mr. Cartwright come back in on Friday.

"Can we get you a drink?" Kenna sat him down.

"Please go*, not coffee," I heard Mr. Valois say under his breath.

Kenna heard him too. "Why don't I just get everyone a glass of water? Francis, would you help me carry them?"

Francis looked at her, puzzled. "Why me?"

"Francis!" she hissed. He was out the door before she could say anything else.

"SERC, you say? I've heard of them," Mr. Valois spoke to Mr. Cartwright after Kenna and Francis were out the door. "Nothing lately though. So what's this about the money they've been taking?"

"They throw fundraisers often and this current one occurred recently. I put in $200 because it was supposed to go to foster children. But when I talked to them a week later, they hadn't received any money. We raised $5000 that night. I don't know who has it, but it makes me angry that I was lied to and now I made the foster home system hopeful."

"Have there been any times where this happened?" Mr. Valois nodded as Kenna and his son brought everyone their water.

Mr. Cartwright thought for a moment. "Now that you mention it, I'm sure there have been. Last year there was a ball with donations reaching up to $40,000 to go to schools across the globe that had been damaged in earthquakes. Those schools are still damaged."

"Mr. Cartwright, it's not easy fixing school or buildings to look the way they were before, especially if it happened only a year ago. How do you know they never got the money?" Francis spoke up.

He took a deep breath. "Will these remain between us?" he asked Mr. Valois.

"Attorney-client privilege is something we take seriously. Why do you ask?"

"The woman who sponsored a few of these fundraisers is named Joanna."

Mr. Valois glanced at his son before looking back at Mr. Cartwright. "I only know one Joanna in this area, and that's Joanna Matheson."

"Yes, Mrs. Matheson."

"And what do you want me to say if we take this to court and Mr. Matheson finds his wife is on the stand because she's a defendant?"

His face said _that's not my problem_ but the words out of his mouth were the opposite. "Just please don't let sweet Aylee be affected by this. She's a good kid; she can't help who her mother is."

Mr. Valois held up a hand. "Let's not jump ahead too quickly now. We don't even know if Joanna is directly involved. If she's not, Andy will have my head for what turns out to be nothing. I'll make sure it's looked into."

Mr. Cartwright nodded and stood up. He had to run back to work but right before he left the room he looked back at us, "just get the money back or give it to the people it was meant for."

Once he was gone, Mr. Valois looked at Francis. "Let's just hope Joanna has nothing to do with this or I'll have to be the one to explain everything to Andy and Aylee." He looked the clock in the conference room. "Mary, why don't you google SERC and find their background and history. Let me know which events they've had this past year."

I nodded and went to the empty office where I'd organized files my first week. It was always quiet there and I could work in peace. I found their site quite easily and it was like looking at a Hollywood awards show. Everybody was smiling with each other (even though chances were that there was some conflict between them), while looking glamorous and beautiful. I went through the pictures from a Christmas party and started to laugh. It all looked so staged.

"What are you laughing about?"

I glanced up. "Bash!"

There he was, looking rugged in a leather jacket and jeans. "How are you doing, Mary?"

"Great! I-I'm sorry; I was spacing out looking at something. Are you here for Mr. Valois again?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm here for my brother."

"Your brother?"

"Yeah, Francis."

That was now what I was expecting to hear. "You and Francis are brothers? So that makes Mr. Valois-" his father. My mind went back to the conversation we'd overheard Mr. And Mrs. Valois having two weeks ago. _He's my flesh and blood._

"Mr. Valois is your father then?"

Bash smiled. "Shocking, I know. And Catherine is not my mother. She's his wife and always has been, but she's not my mother. It's complicated."

He didn't need to say it. He was the child of an affair.

"Bash! There you are!" Francis came to the door. "Mary, I see you've met my brother Bash." I didn't correct him and tell him I'd met him several times, and even had lunch with him last weekend. "How's the research coming on?"

"Fantastic. They're a very interesting group of people," _just like your family_.

"My brother and I are going out for a few drinks," Francis put an arm around his brother's shoulders. He leaned forward a little and lowered his voice. "Just don't tell our father. My mother took Charlie to Disneyland for the weekend, and I'm sure she's thrilled to be there." His sarcasm did not go unnoticed. "I'm guessing your mother will be spending the weekend at my house then?" He asked Bash.

"I think so."

"I guess I'm crashing your place then," Francis looked back at me. "Don't worry, neither of us will be driving. I go out for drinks more than my brother here, but I can also handle my liquor better. What are you doing tonight?"

"I think I'll just settle in and watch a movie or read a book."

"We'll have to invite you next time. Tonight is boy's night for my brother and me."

I didn't want to tell him that bars and clubs weren't my scene. I guess I just never knew how to act around people there and the setting wasn't my favorite thing.

"You two have fun. I'll see you on Monday, Francis."

He waved to me and Bash gave a small smile.

I turned off the computer and the lights before I left. Tomorrow was a "me" day and I wanted to spend it reading. I hadn't read Anne of Green Gables for a long time and I was having a pressing urge to do so.

Yes, tomorrow will be a day for myself.

** Oh, if only it was. Chapter 8 is up soon. Here are some sneak peeks for upcoming chapters: nurse Mary, sick Bash, a birthday party at a club with wild guests, more Marie, and Lola and Greer. I'm on spring break now so I have plenty of time to write! (does accept open office documents?)**


	8. What Happens Tomorrow

**FRENCHMODE: **You don't have PM so I'll answer here. One of the questions will be in this chapter the other is that Francis is trying to keep things professional. But let's be honest- this is Francis we're talking about.

_ **I do not own Reign or the character. Or the song (wish I owned my Duran Duran boys though lol). All mistakes are mine.**_

_ Child, don't you worry_

_ It's enough you're growing up in such a hurry_

What Happens Tomorrow- Duran Duran

"BASH! BASH!"

I opened my eyes when the pounding on my door started. I could hear Francis calling my name but it was still dark outside. Maybe I was dreaming.

"BASH!"

No, I wasn't.

I looked at my phone, shielding my eyes as the light from the screen blinded me. It took me a second for my eyes to see what the time was- 6:03.

That rat.

"Bash, are you awake?"

I certainly was now.

I rolled out of bed and opened the door. Francis was still wearing the clothes from last night and his socks were still on. Either he'd had a quick nap or he hadn't gone to sleep at all. The cab had gotten us to my house a little after 3 and I'd fallen asleep the minute my face hit my pillow.

"Francis the house better be on fire, or you better have somebody pointing a gun at you because this is unacceptable."

"I was bored," he explained.

I yawned. There was no way I heard that right. "Bored?"

"Yes, bored."

I stared at him, my eyes trying to stay open. "So let me get this straight. You woke me up, after 2 and a half hours of sleep, because you were _bored_?"

He grinned at me. "Yes, that sounds right."

"Why?"

Francis held up a game- Halo. "I thought we could play this. You know, a little bonding time with the brother that I don't get to see often."

"At 6 in the morning?" I hissed. " We hung out for hours yesterday, you couldn't wait until 10? And how is playing Halo going to make us bond? Nobody ever speaks to each other when they play video games."

"I might be tired by 10, so I thought we could play while I was still awake."

Apparently, the fact that I'd been asleep didn't count for anything.

"Besides, the bonding during Halo might be better than the time we all played Monopoly during Christmas break."

He had a point. That was the day Elizabeth's husband Philip went home and counted his blessings that he had met all of us beforehand. What started out as a nice game between Francis, Charlie, Elizabeth, Philip, and myself escalated quickly into a war zone. Elizabeth started yelling at Philip and accusing him of stealing her money and buying out one of her homes with it, Francis picked up the board and threw it across the room (causing a dent in the wall) because he'd lost a lot of money, and I was bitching at Charlie for putting me in jail for the second time in less than 10 minutes.

Playing monopoly teaches you patience and restraint.

"Fine. We can play two rounds." I followed him into the TV room. My head was hurting but I didn't say anything. We didn't play for very long before Francis decided he wanted to play Twisted Metal instead. I lasted 5 minutes into the game before passing out on the floor.

I woke up again at 10:20. Francis was passed out several feet away.

I got up, feeling dizzy. My head was still hurting and my stomach was killing me. It took me a few minutes to clear my head and realize what I was feeling.

Nausea.

I'd just made it to the toilet when I threw up in it.

Not a nice start to the day.

When I thought I was down, I flushed the toilet. Then threw up again.

I washed out my mouth and brushed my teeth when I was done for real. Francis was still sleeping when I went back into the TV room. I wanted to wake him up the same way he had woken me earlier but that would backfire the moment he knew I'd gotten sick.

Nothing in the kitchen looked tempting. I felt sick again just looking at everything. Usually I would just have ginger ale, but we were out.

Francis would just have to get me some from the grocery store.

"Wake up," I nudged him with my foot. "Hey Francis, get up."

"Diane?"

"I prefer Bash, but thanks anyway."

He looked up at me. "I was wondering why Diane would be kicking me. Sorry, I thought your mom had come back. What time is it?"

I looked at the kitchen stove. "10:45. Did you sleep well?"

"No," he rolled onto his back, stretching and yawning. "Bash, I didn't sleep very much. Why did you wake me up?"

"Now you know how I felt this morning. I need ginger ale."

He looked confused. "Ginger ale? That's an odd choice for breakfast."

I didn't feel like explaining, my head was already hurting enough. "I threw up and we're out. And get some Tylenol while you're at the store."

"You threw up?" he smirked. "How did that feel?"

I fell onto the couch. "How do you think it felt jackass?"

Francis stood up. "Right, terrible. Do you mind if I have some breakfast first? I'll go to the store after I eat."

Why did Diane have to have an affair with Henry and leave me with having Francis as a brother?

"Fine. Make it quick," I told him.

I was more interested in seeing if he could actually cook something that wasn't life-threatening. I was proven wrong when I smelled what he was making.

"I don't think bacon will help me," I said.

"Of course it will. Grease does wonderful things. Especially," he came to the couch, "when mixed with hamburger meat." He bit into a hamburger that had bacon and mayonnaise on it. I felt sick just looking at it.

"I knew you would do this to me," I groaned, feeling the nausea creep up.

"You should have. It's what brothers do to each other." He looked at his phone. "I have to go. Can you find somebody else to get your ginger ale?"

"Why are you leaving?"

"I have work on Monday, I can't risk getting sick with what you have."

There were not enough middle fingers in the world that would show him my frustration. "I have work tonight, so why are you complaining?"

"I also have to get home before my father smells what's on my shirt from last night."

If my head wasn't hurting so badly, I would have laughed. Some people do crazy things when they're drunk and Francis is no exception. Francis the Pothead is what I like to call him when he's drunk and acting up. Though I don't tell people. I'm sure he has as many stories to tell about me as I do about him.

"You need new friends," I told him.

"I know, but I still like the ones I have."

I heard the front door close and I was left on the couch, sick. This was not just a hangover, this was an actual virus.  
I could call Diane, but I hate acting like a little child who can't get rid of his own headache. Growing up, I never wanted to bother her since she was working so hard just to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. So I took care of myself when I was sick.

Today, I had work and I had to be better by tonight.

There was only one thing I could do besides try to toughen it out. I'd just gotten her number but for some reason, she popped into my head.

I called Mary.

It took all my willpower to keep my eyes open while I was waiting for her. When I heard the knocking, I got up and rubbed my eyes (I would never hear the end if I didn't open the door because I fell on my face).

She stood there with a plastic bag and a purse.

"You really look awful," was the first thing she said.

"Nice to see you too."

I walked back into the TV room as she closed the door. "I bought a 2 liter bottle of ginger ale. Will that be enough?"

A can would have been enough, so I wasn't upset at all.

"And some medicine," I stretched myself across the couch while she sat on the other end of it next to my feet. "Ok, so you're supposed to take two pills every four hours, not to exceed 12 pills in a 24 hour period. Now, I got the lower dosage because I didn't want to give you 500 mg of anything while you're sick and not focusing on anything. And don't forget to eat with the medicine."

"I look that bad, huh?"

Mary smiled. "You obviously haven't looked at yourself too closely in the mirror. You're sweaty, your hair looks like it's been slept on for an entire week, and while I appreciate your effort, the vomit smell isn't easy to get rid of. And in my experience, sweat doesn't smell unless you forget deodorant or it's a very hot summer day. Only one of those options would explain the odor that differs from the vomit one."

"So in short, I smell really bad?"

"Maybe not all of you."

"What do you mean?"

She leaned forward and put her nose to my forehead, giving me a very clear view of her neck. It also made me notice how her body was directly above mine, and the fact that she smelled like fresh strawberries.

"Your hair doesn't," she leaned back and sat by my feet again. "What time did you say you have work? You were a little hard to understand over the phone."

"I'm working the 8-2 shift tonight."

Mary looked at my arms and frowned. "Are you cold?"

I hadn't even noticed I was shivering. It had felt hot before but not it was as if someone had lowered the temperature by 15 degrees.

She stood up. "Where's your room?"

"Down the hall, last door on the right."

Mary was gone for only a few minutes before she came back with a blanket. She gave it to me. "Here, you could use this."

I took it and wrapped myself in it.

"Thanks."

She touched my forehead. "Bash, I think you may have a fever. You're very hot."

"Lots of women tell me that, I'm glad you agree with them. Took you longer than most."

Mary rolled her eyes. "That's now what I meant. Your forehead feels warm. Do you have a thermometer anywhere in the house?"

I shook my head.

She took my arms. "Sit up, we're going to have to get you to eat."

She helped pull me up and I staggered to the kitchen.

"Don't follow me! Sit down!"

I sat at the kitchen table. Mary opened up the cabinets and rummaged through, muttering to herself. "I take it most of these won't help you. Do you have crackers?"

"There might be some Ritz crackers on the bottom shelf of that cabinet," I pointed to the cabinet above her head.

She opened the door to it but had to jump to see what was inside. She took one of the chairs from the table and stood on it to get a better look. I was 6'0 and she had to be around 5'3-5'4. The main reason I had never noticed the difference when we stood next to each other was because she'd worn shoes with small heels each time I had seen her. Today, she had flat boots on instead.

"Found them!"

She stepped back down and took the ginger ale bottle from the plastic bag, bringing both that and the crackers to the table along with a cup.

"You're an angel," I told her.

"Don't thank me quite yet. Let's see if it helps at all."

My throat was starting to hurt from the vomit but I didn't want to worry her any more than she already was. I drank a little bit before deciding it was safe enough to have more, this time with medicine.

"You should try to sleep," Mary said.

"Promise you won't wake me up the way Francis did?"

She almost looked offended. "Do you really think I would do that to someone? Honestly Bash, you should have a little more faith in me than you do right now."

She wouldn't let me put anything away when I was done. I stopped after a few crackers because they made me feel worse, but the drink helped. With my blanket still wrapped around me, I took to the floor and fell asleep. . .

I woke up to something cooking.

Lifting my head, I saw Mary at the stove.

My neck was hurting and the blanket was off of me. I felt hot and sweaty again (considering I fell asleep shivering).

Mary turned around. "Oh, good you're awake."

"What time is it?" I grumbled.

"Nearly 6. You slept for over 4 hours."

I panicked. "I have work at 8! Shit!"

Mary turned her attention back to the stove. "Relax. That still leaves you two hours. Take a shower and then we can eat dinner."

"You made dinner?"

"No Bash. I'm at the stove because I wanted to stare at it."

This girl certainly had a dry sense of humor.

"I'll go shower then," I left the blanket on the floor and headed to the bathroom. Once I came out from my shower, everything for dinner was set. Plates and silverware were on the table, along with several dishes of food on the stove and counter tops.

"Wow," was all I could say.

This girl was incredible.

Mary jumped, not having heard me come up behind her. "Perfect timing. You look much better too."

"You've made a feast."

She blushed. "I'm not as good as my mother though, so I hope it still tastes good."

"Believe me, it's better than anything my brother or I could ever do." The last time my brother had cooked something before today it had nearly killed us both.

"I don't know about that. You seem to be the type who could actually make himself a proper dinner on occasion. You know, when you're not throwing something into the microwave."

"That's a stereotype," I argued but had to grin at the look she was giving me. "But you're right. We all do that."

"And by we you mean boys your age. I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

"Sleep and ginger ale do wonders. How much do I owe you for that?"

She waved her hand. "Absolutely nothing. I'm glad to have helped. And now when I need help, you can be the one to come to my aid."

I knew there had to be a trick.

"So what is all this?" I turned my attention back to the food.

"That is a Scottish dessert called shortbread cookies. They're simple, so it should be all right for you to eat. And here," she held up a dish, "we have macaroni and cheese ham pie. It sounds odd, but it's actually quite good. And lastly, I made chicken pot pie." Where did she find time to do all this? "I went to the grocery store while you were asleep. Now, sit down and we can eat."

She seemed excited as she put everything onto the table.

And with good reason.

"Does it taste ok?"

"More than ok," I told her. "You should open up your own restaurant."

She looked embarrassed. "Thank you. My mum already works as the head chef for a restaurant but I'm happy to hear I have some talent too."

"You do."

She pressed two fingers to her lips, and then the fingers on my cheek.

"Hey Mary. Do you remember what I said that time we had lunch?"

"You said so much that day Bash. Which part?"

"You asked me about a girl I'd been seeing and I mentioned that part about my father."

I still hadn't told Diane about it. What was there to say? She was known to Catherine as "the other woman" since before I was born. All I could ever think to tell her was "that man you're having an affair with hooked up with a girl who works for him. What do we tell his wife?" It would sound hypocritical coming from us. Francis hadn't said anything either, except to me when he saw them. He'd forgotten something and returned to find them making out in the conference room.

"I think I remember that," Mary's voice got quiet. "I wasn't hoping we needn't discuss this..."

"But since you work for my father then clearly we do," I finished for her. "I wish I wasn't the one telling you this but it's better you hear it from me than someone else."

She put her knife and fork down. "I have a feeling this will be interesting, but if you aren't comfortable with it then you don't need to tell me anything."

"It's been a few months so I'm fine telling you."

Mary looked at me, and I began the story.

**Next chapter is soon! Reminder that this story is a slow-burn one so it makes the wait more worth it when they get together (I hope it does). They'll develop a close friendship, with some denial in between about how they really feel about each other. And, as the summary for the story promises, there will be many more lies, scandals, and backstabbing in the story later on.**


	9. I wanna be Free

**SO sorry for the delay! This chapter was difficult to write and I kept re-doing it. Anywho, I hope it came out ok. I put an extra 2 sneak peeks to reward your patience (since the nurse Mary and sick Bash has happened). Would you guys like sneak peeks at the end of each chapter?**

** I'm sorry the paragraphs don't indent on . I indent them when I write but it doesn't show up that way. I should also mention Mary says "Mum" because she's originally from Scotland. My mom was raised in Canada by a Scottish mother and English father and though both have been dead for several years and she hasn't lived in Canada since she was 17, she still writers "Mum" on Christmas cards and emails =)**

** Disclaimer: I don't own Reign or the characters or the Monkees (but I am going to their concert May 28th-the day after my bday!)**

_Doing all those things__**  
**__Without any strings__**  
**__To tie me down.___

I Wanna Be Free- The Monkees

"First, Henry isn't a bad person. He makes mistakes just like any of us and that doesn't excuse him but I don't want you to think he's an awful human being," Bash told me.

I nodded. "I'll try."

He smiled. "That's all I ask."

"So what happened?"

Bash took a deep breath. "I've dated a few girls. I don't want to say they've been bad experiences because I've learned from most of them but I'm still trying to figure out what I learned from this last girl. Maybe that girls prefer Henry to me? I don't know."

"Henry to you? I doubt that, unless you're dating older women who prefer a man nearly 30 years older than you."

"Thanks. Anyway, Francis introduced me to this girl at a work party the office was having for the 4th of July. I normally wouldn't have gone but my brother insisted I come. He introduced us and we hit it off. She was flirtatious but sweet and extremely pretty. So naturally I asked her to go to dinner with me that weekend."

"How was that?"

"It went well. She's forward and she knows what she wants. I found it attractive and so I asked her for another date the next weekend. After a few dates, it became a habit to just make plans together. I even brought her back here to meet Diane."

"Your mother? What did she think?"

Bash laughed. "The same as any mother- that no girl is good enough for her son. It took a while for her to even _want_ to warm up to her. I don't think she ever fully did."

"So what happened next?"

"We were officially dating for a couple months. I won't bore you with details during that time period except the last month. Francis had become an official employee of the office and came to my house one night worried about her. He said she'd been acting strange."

"I'm sorry Bash, I don't mean to interrupt you, but can you at least tell me the name of this girl?" I asked.

"I will soon. So Francis was worried about her so I went to her home and told her I was concerned about her without mentioning what my brother had said. She brushed it off and said it was nothing. I didn't push her." He put a finger to his throat. "Sorry, my throat is hurting. I need more water,. Can I get you some?"

"I'll get the water," I took his glass from him before he could argue. After I filled them both, I sat back down.

"By the end of November, she and I had started seeing each other less and less. I thought she was busy but she decided we should end the relationship."

"But I thought you said-"

"I did. And she did do that, which is how she ended the relationship. She didn't tell me, Francis told me about it."

"_Francis_ caught them? How?"

"He never would have, but he left his credit card at his desk. He went back late at night and saw her all over Henry in the conference room. He left as quickly as he could and told me that night."

"Your brother is very loyal to you."

"He has his moments. Can't say the same about Kenna."

Bash saw my expression. The woman being Kenna made me remember the first day. When she and Mr. Valois had given each other a smile, one that looked like they shared a secret.

"Yes, Kenna. Go ahead and criticize me for it."

"Bash, I wouldn't do that. It wasn't your fault."

"But that's the point! It was."

"How was any of it your fault?"

"I thought I was giving her enough attention but perhaps I said something I shouldn't. She is eccentric at times and there could have been a misunderstanding..."

"Oh for gods sake Sebastian! Don't blame any of her actions on yourself. She's a grown woman who made her choice, however wrong it was, and you can do so much better than her!"

I hadn't realized my voice had risen an octave.

"Wow," he said. "You'll make a great attorney one day, with that spirit you have."

"I'm sorry if I yelled at you Bash. I was just trying to get my point across t you which I can see now I have."

"Oh, you definitely did make your point Mary. Well, this was a nice conversation but I have to get ready for work. Thanks again for cooking everything, it was great. Do you mind if I take some of the dessert to go?"

I jumped up. "Not at all. I'll wrap everything up while you get ready," he reached for his plate, "don't you dare touch the plates or cups. Leave those to me."

"I have time to wash them."

"Bash, go get dressed."

He had put on sweats after his shower which I guess wasn't appropriate for work. After giving me a mock bow, he headed to his room and I started to wash everything. I was almost done when I heard footsteps and saw Bash coming back into the kitchen.

I looked at him.

"Oh," I said more to myself, in a whisper.

He had changed from sweats and a baggy shirt to jeans and a dress shirt. No tie or suit, but a light blue dress shirt with the top two buttons undone, and a white shirt underneath. That mixed with the hair that he hadn't bothered to fix and the slight stubble made him look, well, _good_.

Very good.

"Mary! Earth to Mary," he waved his hand in front of my face.

"Oh! Sorry, I spaced out for a second. What were you saying?"

"I was asking if you were ready. I have to lock the door and I don't think you want to stay here by yourself. I'm not trying to kick you out but Diane might be wondering who you are if she comes home and you're here by yourself."

"Of course. Let me just get my bag and we'll go. So the medicine is making you feel better?" I asked as I handed him the shortbread cookies.

"Much better. Throat is still a little sore but nothing I can't handle."

He walked me to my car.

"Will you let me know if you start feeling sick again? Or text me when you get home so that I know you're not bent over a toilet."

He smiled. "I will. Don't worry about me."

"Promise?"

He put my pinky through his. "I promise."

I didn't hear from him until I woke up the next morning.

The text had been sent at 2:55.

_ I got off work at 2 but I'm keeping my promise and letting you know I'm home. Got a headache at work but sleep will help. - B_

The fact that Bash had kept his promise made me smile for no reason.

And smiling helped after the cramps I'd felt when I woke up.

"Good morning," Mum was already downstairs making breakfast. I nodded and laid down on the couch.

"Do we have ice cream?" I asked her.

"Ice cream? Mary, it's the morning, why would you want that?"

"My monthly appointment is why. Do we have any?"

Her frown didn't escape my attention but she pointed to the freezer. "Could you at least wait until noon? I'm making pancakes."

"No."

She sighed in defeat. "One bite then. But then wait until noon."

I got up, had more than one bite straight from the ice cream tub, and then proceeded to lie back on the couch and put in a Disney movie. Disney movies always help make me feel better. I had my pancakes and was about halfway through Mary Poppins when the doorbell rang. I didn't want to answer it in my pajamas.

"Mary, it's Francis."

I groaned. Now was not the time.

I didn't have to get up. Mum had let him in.

"Bash told me you took care of him yesterday. Thank you for that. I wouldn't know how to do such a thing."

"It's not difficult. Just get them the right medicine, read the instructions on how often they're supposed to take it, and let them sleep a lot."

"Yes, but knowing what food would have made him sick was more tricky."

"Not really. Bash told me what you ate in front of him, which I know you did on purpose. He also said you were a terrible nurse."

Francis shrugged. "I never told him I was good in the medical field. Anyway," he reached into the backpack he'd brought, "this is for you."

He handed me a red envelope.

"What is it?" I opened it.

"Trust me, my mother wanted these done. I think invitations on paper is for children but I won't argue with her. It's an invitation to a party. My birthday party at the Lux Lounge in DC in two weeks time. My parents have paid and reserved for it. I've invited 250 people to be at the club and then about only 50 will come back to the house afterward. The invitation is for those who are invited to both. You're one of them."

I read over the invite. "In two weeks? Which day?"

"Saturday, February 8th. You in?"

The club was going to be open for us from 10 until 1, and then his house for as long as we'd want. That meant I wouldn't have to stay very long if I didn't want to, which I did but I didn't want to be the one girl who's there and doesn't know anyone.

"I can come."

Francis gave me a huge smile. "Excellent! You're going to love it, I promise." He grabbed his backpack and headed to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow at work?"

"You will."

He nodded and left.

Mum came back down. "So what was that about?"

"He's invited me to his birthday party that's on February 8th. I told him I would go."

I knew Mum liked Francis when she first met him so I wasn't surprised to see her smiling. "It will be fun. You'll get to meet people."

"Perhaps."

She sat down on the ground beside me (I was still on the couch). "What's wrong?"

"He takes me on dates and then once we start working together, he treats me like any other colleague. Now he says I'm one of the few people who could come to his house after the party."

"The party won't be at his house?"

"No, it's at the Lux Lounge."

Mum started to worry. "Mary, be careful there. Don't accept drinks from people you don't know, even if they're friends with Francis."

"I know."

"I'll still worry but I trust you. And about the work situation, maybe he just wants to keep his professional life separate from his personal life. It might not have anything to do with you. He's asking you to his party at least, so he hasn't forgotten about you."

"Why are men so complicated?"

She smiled. "They think the same of us."

"I think women are much more simple to understand. I could walk around town and tell you which woman is in love with which man, but I couldn't say if a man is simply flirting with a woman or actually interested in her."

"You're thinking too much. Finish your movie, and then maybe we can go out for lunch? And watch another movie tonight with ice cream?"

"I'd love to."

We went to lunch at a pizzeria downtown and then did some shopping. The stores aren't open very long on Sundays so the only place we went to was a boutique.

Once we were home, we took off our make-up and settled into our sweats to watch 13 going on 30 (I felt like watching a romantic comedy). I forgot about the cramps and the upcoming party as I enjoyed our girls night.

** So I wrote the prologue before 1x12 and completely forgot they ever showed Henry Jr (I'm calling him that), so that's why he's not in this story and it's just Elizabeth (who, IMO, did not look younger than Francis so I made her older), Francis, and Charlie (I put it as that instead of Charles) as the Valois kids. **

** Hope this chapter didn't disappoint. **

** The traffic graph increased by 1,500 just since that last chapter so maybe people are catching up. But reviews are motivation! **

** SNEAK PEEKS: Well we've had more Marie, but here are two more sneakings and peekings for you guys:**

**Mary will meet Diane.**

**Bash will meet Marie (let's see what her first impression of him is)**


	10. Erase and Rewind

**A/N: It seems I owe you all an apology because the Henry/Kenna/Bash thing actually happened (though Giselle and I had discussed the whole "she seduced my father" line from chapter 6 before we even got spoilers about 1x16). And then Mary jealous of Rowan, something I had already planned to do in this story. I'm laughing/crying about it. This chapter wasn't planned but I felt like we needed it after 1x16 so I'm giving it to you. One sneak peek happens here (Mary meets…) but this chapter is almost fluffy before the rest of the story happens. Once again, I'm so sorry the reign writers hacked my emails with Giselle and put Bash and Kenna together LOL**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Reign or the characters**

_Erase and rewind_

_'cause I've been changing my mind_

_I've changed my mind_

Erase/Rewind- the Cardigans

I was stressed out.

Kenna, despite my best efforts to avoid her, would find me on a daily basis and give me a huge workload. It was almost as if she had bugged my phone and heard my whole conversation with Bash on Saturday. Mr. Cartwright had come in but I wasn't given any of the exciting duties. I did petty, busy work. I was ready for the weekend by Tuesday and by Wednesday I wanted to curl up in my bed and sleep for a day.

Lola and Greer were driving down on Friday but I was feeling anxious on Thursday. It had been gray and rainy that day. Mum wouldn't be home until late so I decided to not go home and instead head to Bash's. I'd asked him earlier if he would be home and he said he only was working until 3 in the afternoon.

The rain had gone to a drizzle by the time I left work. I still got lost trying to remember the way to Bash's (I'd had the GPS on Saturday but not today), especially since I was coming from work instead of home. I'd gotten off of work at 5 but didn't get to his house until nearly half an hour later.

I didn't even know why I wanted to come here.

The door swung open before I could change my mind and go home. An older woman (not old, but older) looked at me.

"Yes? May I help you?" Her slight, fading accent didn't go unnoticed.

"Hi, is Bash here?"

She pursed her lips, looked me up and down, and then let me in. There was loud rock music coming from Bash's room.

"Let me tell him you're here. What's your name?"

"Mary," I answered.

She nodded then went down the hall as I stood (uncomfortably) in the kitchen. She didn't even knock on his door before opening it. I waited a little bit; hearing only muffled voices when one of them lowered the music.

"I should have introduced myself. I'm Diane, his mother," she reached her hand out and I shook it. She looked too young to be his mother, maybe an older sister at most. But I could see the similarity- mainly with the eyes.

"Mary Stuart."

"Sebastian will be out soon. I'm having him help me clean the house." I felt guilty when I saw she had been in the middle of making dinner. I had bad timing.

"Oh, thank god!" I tried to lighten the mood by laughing. "His room was a disaster when I was in it. I almost missed his bed."

Ms. Poitiers stopped stirring whatever was in the pot and looked at me with raised eyebrows.

I realized how that could have been interpreted.

"Oh, no! No, that's not what I meant! He was sick on Saturday so I came over with medicine and he got cold so I brought him his bed sheets. It's not because I'm that kind of girl. I am most _definitely_ not that kind of girl."

"It's his business," she said in a soft voice.

Perfect. Why couldn't I think before speaking?

I waited for another minute before Bash came out of his room. He had rubber gloves on, with a sponge in his hands.

"Sorry you had to wait. Diane told me that just putting things away wasn't cleaning," he motioned to the sponge that was dripping water onto the floor.

"That's all right," I looked at the pot, "though I see I came at a bad time so perhaps I could come by another day?" Bash and his mother exchanged a look. She only mouthed something to him. I couldn't see what she was saying but when Bash mouthed something back it almost looked like _damn right_

"You can stay," Bash smiled. "We don't usually have family dinners at the table anyway."

I could see he would argue any excuse I would give him.

"I was going to go shopping right now actually," it was a lie but shopping was the most believable excuse that Bash would believe.

"You come over here to tell me you're going shopping?" he smirked.

"I did."

"Nonsense. It's just grilled cheese and we'd be happy to have you." He turned to his mother, "right?"

She forced a smile. "Right."

There was nothing I could do. I guess it would save me from having to make my own dinner but I didn't want to intrude and I could see Ms. Poitiers wasn't certain about me joining them. But Bash had made up his mind.

"We sometimes just like to watch a movie while we eat. Would you like to pick one this time?" Bash and I sat on the floor.

"I can't imagine you have the types of movies that I enjoy."

"And what would that be?"

"Jane Austen, musicals, Disney, and romantic comedies."

"Sorry, I don't think we have many of those."

"I thought not."

He leaned in, to whisper in my ear. "Don't tell Diane, but I have an unlimited amount of R rated ones like the Godfather and Casino." He leaned away and gave me a wink, putting a finger to his lips. I giggled.

"What are you two laughing about?" Diane came carrying grilled cheese sandwiches on plastic plates.

"I told her we don't have her favorite movies. I'm not cultured in Jane Austen movies."

His mother looked surprised. "Honey, you've seen Pride and Prejudice. How could you not remember that movie?"

I looked at him in shock. "Wait, _you've_ seen Pride and Prejudice?"

He rolled his eyes. "If I did, it wasn't out of free choice. I don't even remember what it was about which shows it holds no special place in my heart."

"You don't remember the love story of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy? Her mother wanted to marry off her and her sisters as quickly as possible. Mr. Darcy falls in love with her despite their differences," I tried to explain.

"That sounds like every other romantic comedy."

"Pride and prejudice is not a romantic comedy. It's a period movie. Even men who hate the movie know this."

"Excuse me my lack of knowledge about some girl movie."

"It is _not_ a girl movie."

"Let's just choose a movie. The food's getting cold," Diane broke in.

I looked at their collection. There weren't that many (since Bash was hiding a stash of R rated ones in his room). It was easy to know which ones belonged to Bash- Bruce Lee, Star Wars, Mission Impossible, and all the horror movies with terrifying covers. I mean, Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Seriously Bash?

"Oh I haven't seen this in years." I held one up.

"Jurassic Park? I'm always up for that," Bash agreed.

I looked at his mother. She nodded.

I didn't even notice how I was sitting in between Bash and his mother. Diane started to warm up to me (I guess knowing I wasn't a girlfriend helped my case), even pausing the movie early on to get us Martinelli. Bash opened the bottle like an expert, but considering where he worked that came as no surprise.

It was turning out to be a fun evening, despite my earlier hesitation.

Just my luck, the rain came back and became a storm during one of the most intense scenes of the movie.

Whenever Tomas had me watch scary movies with him, I'd hold his hand. Of course I couldn't do that with Bash because we weren't like that so I held onto my plate. Bash and his mother were into the movie and didn't notice.

The rain had calmed down by the time the movie ended. We threw the plates away and Diane excused herself and went to her room.

"Now was staying so bad?" Bash asked me.

"I had fun," I admitted. "Except before you came out of your room and I mistakenly gave your mother the impression we've slept together."

Bash laughed. "How did that happen?"

"I told her your room had been messy when I'd gone in on Saturday and I had a hard time finding your bed."

"That doesn't mean anything. We could have just been cuddling."

I gave him a look. "You're her son and I was a girl she didn't know. What else could she have thought?"

"Point taken."

"I have to admit, it took me by surprise that she was here. You said she's usually at work or with Mr. Valois."

"They cut her hours at work."

I felt my face redden. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"You didn't ask anything, don't worry about it."

I looked outside. "Do you want to know something? When I was little and it had just rained, I would go barefoot and run around in the mud. My mother would fret about my clothes getting dirty."

"You would play in the mud?"

"Not rolling around in it of course, but I quite like the way mud feels under foot."

"Let's do it right now. Francis and I had our fair share of mud fights when we were younger, and I've played sports in all kinds of weather." He took my hand and headed towards the back door.

"It's cold outside and it's still raining. And I'm in work clothes!" it was true. I was still in my blouse, skirt and tights.

"Then lose them," he motioned to my black tights.

"Oh I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I didn't shave my legs today."

Bash looked at me in disbelief than chuckled. "You're more concerned about having not shaven than you are about getting mud on yourself? Did you shave yesterday?"

"No and that's why I wore burgundy tights yesterday."

"If I don't look at your legs, would that make you feel better?"

It wouldn't but when I went to the bathroom to take them off, my legs didn't look too bad at all. Bash was already outside when I came out.

My feet felt cold right as I stepped outside. Bash's house was right next to a forest, which looked almost eerie in the dark. The mud that was currently under my feet felt nice. Bash lay on the ground.

"What are you doing? You'll get filthy!"

"Thanks mother," he mocked.

It was a sweet sight. When I brought out my phone to take a picture, he closed his eyes and smiled. Even with his dirty appearance, Bash was picture perfect.

I hummed some of my favorite tunes as I danced around in the mud. Bash started to roll around, eventually covering himself from head to toe in mud and dirt.

Ms. Poitiers was going to have a heart attack.

He stood up. "How do I look now?"

"Your mother isn't going to let you inside the house if that's what you're asking," I took another picture.

'What are you humming? It's relaxing."

"Once Upon a Dream. I love that song."

He furrowed his brow. "Once upon a dream?"

Oh dear god. "Yes, from the movie Sleeping Beauty. You have seen that movie, haven't you? About Maleficent and Princess Aurora, and she pricks her finger on a spinning wheel…"

"Oh, sure. I think my cousin would watch that movie when we were younger, but I don't think I've ever seen the whole thing."

"Someday, we're going to have a day where we do nothing but watch movies that the other person enjoys."

"You won't make me watch Pride and Prejudice though, right?"

I smiled. "Maybe I will."

Bash mumbled something incoherent but didn't say anything else. "I'm feeling the cold now. Are you ready to go back inside?" he held out his hand. I took it, letting him lead the way back inside. I wiped my feet a little but Bash didn't seem to care to do the same.

I was right. His mother had a heart attack the minute she got out of her room.

"SEBASTIAN!"

He started laughing as I grabbed my tights and bag from where we had left them. The look on his mother's face said it all.

"You should go before she yells at me in front of you," he walked me to the front door, still covered in mud and dragging it even more. It was a good thing the kitchen floor was made of tile. "I'll be spending the rest of the night cleaning up as it is."

"Tell your mother thank you for dinner. And stop rolling around in mud."

He kissed my cheek. "I'll try."

I drove home, completely forgetting about the mud on my cheek.

**Sorry for the fluff but I think we Mash shippers really need it right now! Hope you liked it. Oh, and remember Castleroy in chapter 2? I was also right about him taking Leith under his wings lol (that's what I took from last night's episode). And no matter what disagreements this fandom has I think we can all agree on two things- Henry is a madman, and Penelope needs to die or go away. =)**

** Chapter 11 will get back to the actual story. Let me know what you thought of this one!**


	11. Drops of Jupiter

**To avoid confusion, the next two chapters both start from the Thursday night we left off and continue. This one is from Bash's view from that night until the end of the chapter. The next is Mary's POV until the end of that chapter. If that makes sense lol**

** Enjoy the sweet moments while you can! (that's all I'm saying for now). This chapter sets up later chapters. Not much Mash, but Bash does talk about Mary a little bit. This is more of a filler chapter. **

** Disclaimed: I do not own Reign or the characters. All mistakes are mine.**

_She acts like summer and walks like rain__**  
**__Reminds me that there's a time to change, hey, hey, hey___

__Drops of Jupiter- Train

…...

"Is the kitchen floor done?"

"Yes."

"And the hall by the front door? Did you scrape everything from the edges?"

I sighed, my hands and knees were sore from all the washing and cleaning I'd been doing since Mary left. Diane had raised her voice at me for a minute before handing me rubber gloves and every cleaning tool known to man. She wouldn't let me start until I had given her my shirt and socks to wash the mud off (I didn't bother putting a shirt on again).

"You know why I made you do that?" Diane asked me.

"So that I could learn to be more respectful about keeping the house clean after we've cleaned it." This wasn't my first time.

Diane cracked a smile. "Get up and put a shirt on."

I put everything back under the kitchen sink and went to my room. When I got out, she was reading a book on the couch. I sat next to her.

"So. Mary?"

Here we go.

"She's a friend. I'm glad you were nice to her either way though."

"I was only friendly because you would have told me otherwise."

We sat in silence for a few minutes as she continued reading. I couldn't resist asking her what I'd been wanting to since Mary had talked to me earlier.

"Did you really think I slept with her?"

"No," Diane answered without even looking away from her book. "I just knew it would make her uncomfortable."

I looked at her and could see she wasn't lying.

I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.

"Well it worked," I managed to say. "She might not ever come back."

"She will. You two sounded like you were having fun out there. Maybe she can just come back when I'm not here."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Will I need to close my book?"

"Why did your hours get cut down?"

Diane closed her book. "Let's just be grateful I didn't get laid off. Many of my co-workers were and I only got shorter hours because I've been there longer."

"So the mortgage?"

"Will be harder to pay for," Diane finished.

I groaned. "So I guess I can forget about going back to school in the fall."

"Well..."

I looked at her. She was avoiding eye contact which meant she had something to say that I wouldn't like.

"What?"

She looked at me. "You could ask your father."

"No."

"Sebastian, I know you hate asking him for help, but I think we can both agree that money for school is something you might need help getting."

"I don't want to ask him."

Diane turned to me so that we were face-to-face.

"Is something wrong?"

I shook my head. One thing I never like doing is talking and opening up. I did it with Mary because I trusted her (and I was sick). It's not that I don't trust Diane, but I didn't want to hurt her. Though part of me wondered if she would even care, especially since she's been having an affair with Henry since before I was born.

"No, nothing."

"What would you do back at college? You spent your first year switching majors because none of them interested you."

"That's true. I guess it's a good thing I can't go. I would just waste time and money."

I thought about a grant or a loan, but that's money wasted. With a loan, I wouldn't want to pay back money that was no use in the long run. This was becoming one of those days where I wished $100,000 would come out of nowhere. It would solve most of our problems.

"I guess I could get a second job," I suggested. "It might take a while to find, but I'll try my hardest."

Diane put a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you Bash but that won't be necessary. You know, sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky to get a son like you." She stood up. "I'm going to bed. Don't stay up all night."

"I have tomorrow off. I'm staying up all night."

"I am too."

"I thought you said you only got your hours cut."

"I did. That included getting a four-day work week as well."

"Oh. I'll see you in the morning then."

"You will." she started to walk off. "Oh and Bash? Don't invite any girls for late night shenanigans. If it's Mary let me know and maybe I can embarrass her further."

I chuckled. I never bring girls here (except those I actually date) and especially not for "late night shenanigans" when Diane is here. She found this out in the worst way when she caught me walking in early one morning in the same clothes I'd been wearing the day before. Women seem to remember what you wore the day before. I can hardly remember what Diane is wearing an hour after I've seen her.

"Good night!" I called after her.

"Keep the volume down on the TV," she gave me one last look before closing the door.

I was wide awake so I turned the volume down and watched two movies before deciding it was time for bed.

I woke up late. Diane had just come back from a morning run when I trudged into the kitchen in my sweats, yawning.

"What do you have planned today?" she asked me.

"Job hunting," I answered as I opened a box of cereal.

Diane looked surprised. "I thought you were kidding about that and I said you didn't need to get a second job."

"Nothing else we can do. Less hours means less money."

"And where do you plan to start?"

"Falls Church and other places nearby."

"I mean companies."

I shrugged, eating cereal straight from the box with my hand. Diane looked at me but didn't say anything about my eating habits. I eat cereal like this all the time.

I got ready for the day and went to the public library to work on my resume. I called Isabel and picked her up after she ended work on 3:00. She was getting bigger each time I saw her. I was surprised she could still walk straight.

"Is it doing okay?" I motioned to her stomach.

"Oh for gods sake, the baby isn't an it. The baby is a she."

"My bad. Is she doing okay?"

"Kicking. I want to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"How do you feel about being there for the baby shower? I don't have many people I know who could come."

I'm sure I looked as horrified as I felt. "A baby shower?"

"What's the problem?"

"That's a girl thing."

"You don't need to participate in the games. Just be there as support. Bring a girl if you want, but can you please come?"

I started opening my mouth to say no but she gave me the puppy eyes. The ones that could say two thing- _you don't get out of this_ and _my dad can deal with you if you don't_. My uncle can be intimidating.

"Fine. When is it?"

"Oh not for another few weeks. End of February. I'm not due until March 15th."

"Ok."

"Don't forget to buy a present."

Oh he*l.

"You look stressed."

I told her about what Diane and I had discussed last night. I didn't go into details but it made me remember when I went to school.

_2007_

_ I had started going to Nova after I'd graduated High School. It was good, after leaving the three layers of he*l people commonly referred to as grade school. I took some general ed classes to see what I was interested in but noe of the four I was taking my first semester interested me. _

_ By December, Henry was on my case._

_ He came by Christmas afternoon. He brought Diane a gift-wrap present and then gave me one of my own. _

_ "Bash, how is school coming along?"_

_ I cringed on the inside. The final grades had been posted and two of them were not going to make my parents happy. _

_ "It's good," was all I said. _

_ Henry and Diane exchanged glances._

_ "Grades won't be posted until after Christmas. I think they're supposed to be up by the 27th." It was a lie of course. Luckily, Diane was not one of those mothers to constantly ask you for your school ID and password just so she could check your grades on a weekly basis._

_ Henry on the other hand..._

_ "How do you think you did?" he asked._

_ "Biology is one of the hardest classes on campus," that was the truth. And the C- I'd gotten would prove that. "I think I did well in English and government." I wasn't lying there. _

_ "Just remember to find a major. I paid for this first semester but if you're going to take classes that mean nothing I'm not paying," Henry said._

_ "These are generals. I have to take them."_

_ "Just remember what I said."_

…_..._

_ Present Day_

"So I can't ask Henry for anything." More than six years later, I was sure Henry was going to say the same thing. Francis used to say Henry favored me because he loved my mother, but sometimes his actions prove otherwise. He can go from loving and playful one minute, to biting my head off about something the next.

I never know what to expect when I'm talking to him.

Isabel looked thoughtful. We were at her house, eating ice cream straight from the box. "Instead of looking for a second job right away, take some time to think about what you want to do."

"Only a day. I need a second job. I help Diane as much as I can but more money would be nice," I looked around the room. "Got any beer or wine?"

Isabel rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm pregnant so I have my own stash of alcohol in the house. I think my dad might have one bottle of Budweiser left."

I stood up to look for it.

"You must be really stressed if you're drinking alcohol in the afternoon."

"I told Mary about Kenna."

Isabel looked at me in disbelief. "Why would you do that?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I was sick? I called her to help me after Francis left me puking my guts out and I just told her about Kenna. It was my fault, she didn't even bring it up. She said 'I was hoping we needn't discuss this' but I did anyway."

My cousin shook her head. "I'm surprised she gained your trust as quickly as she did."

"She just has this innocent, maybe naive, aura around her. It just started coming out of my mouth once I started."

"What did she think?"

"About Henry and Kenna? That it was as disgusting and weird as you and I think."

"She's not wrong."

"You should come by when Mary cooks. She's amazing. She made me a whole meal when I was feeling sick."

Isabel smiled. "Uh-oh."

"What?"

"Do you like her?"

"Not like _that_. She's a sweet girl but I can't imagine it would ever work. We've talked about this Isabel, she's too different."

"We have talked about this but that was before you knew her well enough. After she took care of you when you smelled like alcohol and vomit, your first impression of her might have been the opposite of who she really is."

Isabel wasn't wrong but that didn't mean I was interested in Mary. She was cute with an innocent view of the world, a glass half-full kind of girl. Compared to my glass half-empty outlook on life, it was a nice change.

"Do I really have to come to your baby shower? Can't I just buy your daughter something and then take my leave?"

Isabel took the ice cream for herself. "No, but you can hide and eat the food."

"Shit," I took another drink from the Budweiser. "You win."

My cousin just winked as she took another bite, putting the ice cream back to the middle of the table to share.

"Maybe you'll be Godfather," she said.

"Too bad it wouldn't be like the movie."

"No, good thing it _wouldn't_ be like the movie."

"You've never told me if you have a name for her. I had hoped the baby would be a boy so you could have named him after me."

"I know, and I'm sorry for your pain. I'm still picking out names. I have three that I'm thinking of but I also need a middle name for her."

My phone buzzed. It was my brother.

"Francis! How can I help you?" I answered.

"Are you still up for tomorrow?"

Damn, I'd forgotten he and I were going to do some paint-balling with some of his friends. The weather was supposed to be in the low 50s tomorrow so it seemed like a good time. We still had to dress warmly but compared to the cold weather from before, it wasn't a problem.

"Of course I am. Quality time with my brother that ends in me kicking his ass. What time do you want me to get you?"

"After lunch, when the weather picks up. I'm bringing Rowan and Leith."

"Deal. See you then." I hung up and picked up my spoon to eat more ice cream. "So cousin, what names were you thinking of?"

**Sorry for any terrible writing or mistakes. I started watching Person of Interest and it's so addicting that I had to watch it as I was writing, so I got distracted haha. Anyway, there will be more Rowan (especially at the party). **

** Sneak peeks: Mary and Isabel bond more, the party (which will be a few chapters both from Mary and Bash's POVs), and Mary helping Bash find a baby gift because let's be honest, he will know nothing about it =)**

** You read. Maybe a review? 3**


	12. Corrupt

** I know what you're thinking, "2 updates in 2 days?" Yes. I have a feeling the next few eps might be hard for us poor Mash fans (but hey, no pain no gain) and I have exams at the end of this month so I want to write before my brain gets fried. And that's why I included the cheesy "awwww" moment at the end. **

** Thank you for all the kind reviews! They make me happy! Sorry for the Frary in this chapter, though I promise I've made it tolerable (I hope). Things might start to get more complicated after this chapter though. Just remember that Mash are the endgame so what's a few curve balls? I wasn't going to add the Mash in this chapter but I figured, why not? It's a long chapter in case I don't update for a week or so. **

_**Frenchmind: Isabel is just Bash's cousin because her father is Diane's brother. She won't go to the party since she's so pregnant. She and Mary will bond another way. =)**_

_I could corrupt you  
In a heart beat_

Corrupt- Depeche Mode

…...

My phone was ringing when I walked through the door. I saw Francis's name on my screen. Puzzled, I answered.

"Hello?"

"Mary!" I jumped and held the phone from my ear. He was loud. "I'm glad I caught you. I have a question for you."

"And what would that be?"

"This might sound strange so I would usually ask in person but tomorrow is the day before Saturday so I guess I'll just ask you now. Have you ever been to La Bergerie?"

I looked up at the ceiling and rolled my eyes. "You called me to ask me if I've ever been to a restaurant?"

"No, that wasn't my question. Do you want to go there on Saturday?"

This was unexpected. Mum's idea about Francis not asking me on any dates because we were co-workers went into my brain.

"Oh, sure. What time?"

"I can come at 7:00. My brother and I are going paint-balling with some friends that afternoon so I'll be gone for a few hours. Does that time work?"

My brother I assumed he meant Bash. Despite not knowing Mrs. Valois too well, she didn't strike me as the type who would let Charlie go (unless there was already an age limit). Bash hadn't said anything about Saturday but I took it Francis meant him.

I told Francis that time would work and said good-bye. Mum was going to love this.

Though I should be telling Lola and Greer too. They were my closest friends after all, and I hadn't seen either of them in a while.

Which gave me an idea. I took out my phone and started a text.

"You know, we're overdue for some girl time. What are you doing Sunday?"

…...

Friday was a blur. I don't even know what I did on Saturday morning (except sleep for most of the morning) and I still hadn't told Mum about my date with Francis. Not that I intended to. She was staying at work until close tonight and with my luck, I would be home before her.

I was still fixing my hair when the doorbell rang. I looked at my phone.

6:56 PM.

Francis was early but I turned off my straightener and went downstairs. He must have done well in his game because he looked clean, even wearing a white dress shirt.

He noticed I was staring and laughed. "I had time to shower and change. You should have seen my brother though. He went home and, far as I know, has not bothered to change yet. But he'll have to for his shift tonight."

Definitely talking about Bash.

"I'm surprised his mother hasn't killed him for all the mess he keeps himself in." Ms. Poitiers had struck me as a loving but strict parent, though protective of her adult son.

"It's because she loves him and he's her only child. He should be glad he doesn't live in my house. My mother would make sure he got his as$ handed to him." Francis grimaced. "Catherine and Bash have had some terrifying arguments in the past. Never cross either of them." He perked up. "So are you ready to go?"

"Lead the way."

We got in his car (a 2013 Jaguar according to Francis) and went off. We made small talk along the way and found an underground parking lot near the restaurant.

"You never did say if you've been here or not."

I looked at him, deciding whether he would care if I had. My guess was that he wanted to show me somewhere he hadn't thought I'd been to.

"No, I haven't. What's good here?"

He had made reservations so we got to our table quickly. Francis spoke some french to the waiter who came back a minute later with a bottle of champagne.

"La sole Classique de Douvre Meuniere is fantastic."

**I looked straight at the dessert menu. They still had my favorite- Profiterrolles (puff pastry with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce). Excellent.**

** "...and then Bash shot Leith and it was game over. Rowan and I had already gone out. She was out first. She made it easy on herself because she was too busy flirting with my brother, despite being on the opposite team with Leith. I took her out, Leith took me out, and then Bash came out the winner after shooting Leith."**

** I stared at him blankly. Apparently he had been talking about more than just what was on the dinner menu. "I'm sorry?"**

** "I know, can you believe that? Leith took his loss well but Rowan spent the car ride home telling him he needed a girlfriend. He's never had one."**

** "Leith? Leith has never had a girlfriend?"**

** "Not a serious one. I've known his family since we were children. I called him the kitchen boy when we were younger because that's where I could usually find him."**

** "Wow."**

** "And Mr. Castleroy is very protective of him. Treats him like a son." Francis poured champagne into both of our glasses and held his up. I held mine up too. "A toast? To Leith finally meeting a nice girl."**

**Oh dear go*,****_that's_**** what he wanted to toast to? **

** "To Leith," I said.**

** The waiter came to take our orders. I picked what Francis had mentioned earlier and looked around. People were dressed nicely. **

** Much differently than they were at the place Bash had taken me to. **

** "I have something to tell you," Francis's voice broke me out of my thoughts.**

** "And what's that?"**

** "I'll be missing work on Friday. I'll be picking a friend up from the airport on Thursday night. One who's coming all the way from Italy for my birthday and a quick visit. We had a few math classes together in High School and college so we've stayed close."**

** "Math class?"**

** "Senior year of High School and two math classes in college."**

** I didn't ask anything else.****We made small talk. I told him more about my grandparents and how they (and my father) had left their fortunes to my mother and I when they passed. I asked him more about his Catherine. He told me how his sister Elizabeth had met her current husband Philip when they were younger. Philip's family was originally from Spain, and Mrs. Valois and his mother would talk about Europe over lunch when their children were younger. Philip had apparently pulled Elizabeth's hair in the first grade. They got along much better in High School.**

** I got the dessert I wanted after dinner. I knew the bill was going to be high (this restaurant is one of the most expensive ones) but Francis slipped out a credit card without even looking at the cost of it. **

** "It's gotten much colder than the afternoon," Francis looked at the sky when we left.**

** I opened my mouth to tell him that's what happens at night, but I closed it just in time. I don't think he would be very impressed with any sassy reply. But I could be wrong. **

** "What are you doing tomorrow?" I asked, just to give us something to talk about.**

** "Church. We're Catholic," just like my family is, "and my mother wants us to go every Sunday that we can. What about you?"**

** "I want to call two of my friends to have some girl time with."**

** "What are their names?"**

** "Lola and Greer."**

** "Greer? That's a rather interesting name."**

** "It is. She's never said why her parents chose to name her that." **

**When Francis dropped me off at the door, he stayed where he was even after I had opened the door. Dozens of thoughts ran through my head. Did he want to come inside and check for burglars? Did he think Mum was home? Should I invite him inside?**

** I didn't think it was going to be something else entirely. **

** He kissed me. **

** I think my eyes stayed open for a second because I was too shocked to move. Was he purposely trying to confuse me? First, we go on dates and I start to think he likes me, then he doesn't talk to me much at work except for business reasons, and now he's kissing me! **

** What was happening?**

** We separated for air after a couple of minutes. His lips were rough but his kisses were longer. They almost dragged on to the point that I thought his lips stopped moving. **

** Mum likes him though. And I can see why. He's charming, attractive, and ambitious. He knows what he wants and he takes it.**

** But what did that include?**

** I guess there was no harm in actually being attracted to him if he had all the qualities my grandparents once told me to look for- the standing (he and his family were important, well respected and honorable members of their community), the ambition, economic security, and class. **

** I tossed and turned that night in bed.**

** But my thoughts were everywhere.**

**…...**

** "So help us understand this. You play in the mud with one brother and then two days later, you're kissing the other brother," Lola clarified. "Is that right?"**

** It had started as a simple conversation. I told Lola and Greer that Francis had called me after I got home from spending the evening with Bash. But then they wanted to know who Bash was, since I had told them about Francis when we had our first date. Explaining who Bash was and how I knew him required an extra five minutes. **

** "That sounds about right."**

** "Wow two brothers in just three days," Lola giggled. "Oh Mary." **

** "You make me sound like I'm playing them. You forget that I have gone out with one and the other brother is a friend."**

** "For now," Greer said. She hadn't spoken much since this whole topic began. **

** "What do you mean?" Lola asked her. It was exactly what I wanted to know. **

** "Make no mistake, you're definitely friends with this older brother. But don't you think Francis should know?"**

** "He knows. Bash told him I took care of him when he was sick. Francis made a terrible caregiver after all so who else was there?"**

** "You took care of him?" Lola raised her eyebrows. **

** I told them about that day. **

** "Does Bash know you're dating his brother?"**

** "Not unless Francis has said something. Technically speaking, we're not official and I doubt Bash cares at all about my love life. He doesn't seem like the type to concern himself with such a thing. He has too much on his plate as it is. Can we change the subject?"**

** "I have something to tell you all," Lola spoke up as she started to paint her nails. We were in my room, doing makeovers and talking about the latest gossip. **

** "Tell us," Greer said as she put on mascara. **

** "Colin went back to England. I am officially single again." **

** Greer and I gave her a hug. Lola and Colin had been together for two years and while he did not know for certain whether he was going back to his hometown in England, it looked like he had made the official choice. I knew Lola was contemplating whether they could keep a long-distance relationship but Colin said he wouldn't be back once he left. **

** "Do you need anything?" Greer asked as we let her go.**

** "Not really. Maybe a fun night out would do the trick."**

** As she and Greer fell quiet, an idea came to my mind. I would have to ask Francis of course, but it was worth a shot. I couldn't imagine he'd say no. **

** "Do either of you have work tonight?" I asked them.**

** Lola was studying nursing and she worked in a residency home. She loved being around the elderly and hearing their stories about past events she wasn't alive for. Greer was a Psychology TA so I knew she most likely had assignments to grade.**

** "My shift starts at 6:00 tomorrow. I should leave soon," Lola looked at her phone. **

** "I've done all the grading. There's only so much you can take when students write like they have never bothered showing up to class," Greer shook her head. "Now I want to go through all my past assignments with classes and see if I wrote the same way."**

** "You went to class every day unless you were sick," I reminder her. "I think your writing would be much better than the students you're teaching now." **

** "I hope so," she muttered. **

** "I should be getting home for dinner. I have to help make it tonight," Lola stood up, blowing on her nails to dry them. "I'll talk to you girls soon."**

** She and Greer live in the same area but had to drive separately since Lola arrived later than Greer had. **

** "Thank you for coming Lola. I'm sorry about Colin," I told her as I walked her to the door. "Come again soon?" She gave me another hug before leaving.**

** Greer left shortly after. **

** I had told Mum this morning about what happened with Francis. She gave me a knowing smile but only listened as I talked. But she offered no advice. **

** I sat in my room, putting on music to help me think. **

** It didn't help that Lola and Greer had mentioned Tomas when they first arrived. Apparently, he and his girlfriend had taken a trip to Jamaica over the Winter break but I surprisingly found myself not really caring. I'd done my fair share of traveling and I certainly had no clue what Tomas saw in that girl. She needed an attitude makeover. **

** Not to sound like a snob, but she also needed to do something more productive with her life instead of having other people do things for her. I wasn't basing this on a hunch. Lola and Greer had seen her at school and witnessed her having people do her homework for her. She even calls people to put gas in her car, instead of doing it herself. **

** I started to sing quietly to the song that was playing from my laptop. There was no harm in the Little Mermaid, it was actually quite relaxing. **

** The Little Mermaid. **

** It gave me an idea.**

** I was friends with Bash. And I had promised him that I would watch his movies if he watched mine. Right now was a perfect time to start. **

** So I sent him a text telling him he should watch a few movies with me. I got a response back a few minutes later. **

**_I won't be back until 7. Is that too late?_**

** He wouldn't be back for another two hours. I told him that was fine and decided to do something with the time. Mum was surprised when she came downstairs to start the dinner but saw one already being made. **

** "Did you do something wrong?"**

** I rolled my eyes. "I just wanted to be nice. It's not because I'm looking for forgiveness."**

** "I had to ask."**

** "Mum, I'm having a friend over. You won't be needing the family room tonight, will you?"**

** "Mary sweetheart, you're becoming popular. How many friends are you planning on inviting over today?"**

** "Lola and Greer have left. Bash will be here at 7."**

** She furrowed her brow. "Bash? You mentioned him once if I remember correctly."**

** "I forgot I told you about him."**

** "You didn't say much anything about him. You only said that you two were friends and that was it. Has something changed?"**

** "Oh not you too!" I threw my head back in exasperation. "Just because he's attractive doesn't mean I'm interested. Besides, he's a little..." I wasn't sure how to say it.**

** "He's a little?" Mum asked, waiting for an answer. **

** "Dirty?"**

** Mum's eyes widened. "Do you mean the way he talks?"**

** While she wasn't wrong, I wouldn't admit that before she even met him. Then she would only have one opinion about him. "No, I mean physically. He looks like he walks through dust and dirt all day. I've only seen him look clean once or twice."**

** "He sounds...interesting."**

** "He is. You just have to meet him to know how interesting." I opened the oven. "The casserole is ready."**

** During dinner, I endured question after question about work, Francis, and the upcoming party. I talked about my other co-workers and then decided to ask Mum about ****_her_**** work. She started telling me stories about customers. She doesn't work in the front but that doesn't mean she's not at the receiving end of the gossip. **

** We were laughing (my stomach was hurting and there were tears coming down my face) about her latest story when there was a knock. **

** Well, being early was one thing Francis and Bash had in common. **

** I went to go open the door. It was pouring outside and Bash was drenched. **

** "The damn weather just changed within minutes as I was driving. I was going on the freeway and like a stupid-ass driver rear ended another one and they caused traffic because neither pulled over to the side. I was in a good mood today because I was done with my shift early but I got stuck so I literally had to haul ass to come here earlier than I told you. I know people can't drive for shit in snow, but rain? Use your go*damn windshield wipers and slow down. I mean, causing a huge jam in when it was just light rain at the time? How the fu-" he stopped speaking. **

** I turned around to where he was looking. Mum had heard everything he said and I knew she wasn't impressed with his language. **

** Maybe I should have told her. But the language in his current rant was worse than I've heard him use before. **

** I cleared my throat. "Mum, this is Bash. Bash, this is my mother, Marie."**

** They shook hands and I saw her give him the once-over. I don't think he'll be getting her blessing anytime soon. **

** "Nice to put a face to the name," Mum told him. "You two enjoy your night. I'll be upstairs if you need anything." **

** "So much for good first impressions," he said once we heard her door close. He took off his shoes and left them at the doorway as he came in. "Nice house."**

** I realized he had never been over before. **

** "Would you like a tour?" I offered. **

** "Maybe later when your mother doesn't remember anything I said. I take it I won't be in her good graces?"**

** "For now, but just keep the language down when she's here. I'm sorry, I should have told you she would be here."**

** He shrugged. "I figured she would be. It's a Sunday night."**

** "So about that movie. Have you ever seen the Little Mermaid?"**

** He wrinkled his nose. "I actually think I've seen it. But not since I was little. I do remember a singing crab, a hot mermaid, and an inappropriate song."**

** "Sebastian is the crab. As for the hot mermaid, I take it you mean Ariel since she's the main character. I don't think there are any inappropriate songs though."**

** "Yes, there is. It's that one song. I remember hearing 'darling, it's better down where it's wetter'. Come on Mary, even you can't be so naive."**

** "The song is Under the Sea and he's talking about the ocean not a woman's area, you childhood ruining dipshit," I snapped. **

** "You never know." Realization crossed his face. "Wait, did you just swear at me?" he flashed me an evil grin. "Mary, I believe I'm starting to rub off on you. In the meantime, do you have any other childhood favorites I can ruin for you?"**

** "I think you've done enough scarring for one night Sebastian Poitiers. How about we just choose something else?"**

** "You don't happen to have Shawshank Redemption, do you?"**

** "No."**

** "Mystic River?"**

** "Is that a documentary?"**

** He threw his hands in the air. "I give up. Pick whatever you want."**

** I found a movie I liked. ****_He's going to regret ever letting me choose._**** I smirked to myself and put the DVD in.**

** All he did was look at the main menu and I knew I'd made the right choice.**

** "You can't be serious," he said.**

** "Phantom of the Opera. Do you have a problem with it?"**

** "I've never seen it but I know it's a bunch of singing. Henry took Diane to see it on Broadway a few years ago."**

** "It's not just singing. There's a whole mystery to it as well. Give it a try."**

** I'm sure Bash's gaze was pointing daggers at the back of my head as I pressed play but he didn't say anything. **

** He actually stayed quiet through the whole movie except to make remarks, mainly concerning easier ways to find out more about the phantom.**

**"So? What did you think?" I asked at the end of it. **

** "Catchy phantom of the opera song. That girl was super cute."**

** "Did you even watch the movie?" **

** "Of course. I was extremely concerned for her well-being."**

** This was hopeless. I guess I had to give him props for watching it the whole way through. Now it was my time to repay the favor. **

** "Is this what you do?" he asked. **

** "This being what?"**

** "Watch these innocent movies, cook dinners, take care of hungover young men. "**

** "Nothing wrong with that."**

** "I'm not say there is. I just want to know the last time you did something daring. It's only fair, since you made me sit through that movie."**

** "You enjoyed it, even if it was for Christine's looks. And to answer your question, I don't have time to do something adventurous nor do I think I should. What if your father's office found out? I could get into trouble."**

** "And how exactly would they find out? I can't imagine they would care about an intern playing around downtown."**

** "Downtown?"**

** "I'm going to take you downtown for a day at some time this month. We can see aggressive hockey games, hit a bar or the grille I work at, I heard there's an abandoned mental institution that we should go into at night."**

** "Bash, I am not breaking any laws."**

** "Fine. I'll plan something else but I'm going to take you downtown and maybe to the most run-down places too. I bet you've never seen any of those."**

** "Violent hockey games, bars...Are you trying to corrupt me?"**

** "Is it working?"**

** "You'll have to try harder."**

** He looked at the time. It wasn't too late for me since I didn't have work until 9:00. We had time for another movie. **

** "So what do you want to do now? I can let you pick another movie to watch or I can give you the tour of the house."**

** He thought for a moment. "How about that tour?"**

** He stood up, I stayed on the floor too lazy to move (I was secretly hoping he would choose another movie). His hands took mine to pull me up. **

** "Let's start with what's on this level. This is the family room obviously. It's where our guests sit when they visit,"**** I held his hand as I showed him around. "This is the kitchen. Aren't the counter-tops classic? They're much easier to clean since any mess is easy to spot. But my favorite room is downstairs in the basement. We have so much in there but there are so many things that bring back memories."**

** I led him down to the basement. Truth be told, the basement was always the room I was scared to go into when I was younger. Whenever I was down there, I would run up the stairs as fast as I could after turning the lights off. It seemed so silly now.**

** "What's down here that's so special?" Bash asked.**

** I turned on the lights once we had gone down the stairs.**

** "All of this," I let go of his hand and stood by the piano. "We have photo albums with pictures from when my father was still alive, and all the accessories and clothesI couldn't fit into my room. But this piano is one of my most prized possessions. My father gave it to me and I used to play when I was a child but I've stopped since."**

** "Got bored?"**

** "I used to have time to practice but not anymore. It seems so pointless to keep going when nobody is around to listen."**

** "What about your mom?"**

** I shook my head. "She encouraged it because she thought it was a good skill to have but now I would just play so poorly that she would probably plug her ears instead."**

** "I don't think she would do that."**

** "What about you? Do you play any instruments?"**

** "I played the flute in Elementary School for music class. My flute was cheap, it sounded terrible. The only thing closest to instruments I've had were the pots and pans I used to pretend to drum on. Music lessons were always out of our budget."**

** "Did your father not pay for any?"**

** "Diane didn't want Henry to end in the papers because of their affair, so we've been living like ghosts for as long as I can remember."**

** "Sounds like a terrible way to live."**

** "It's not. It's better than having reporters trying to get an interview with you." He sat down on the piano bench. "You're sure you don't remember anything?"**

** I scraped the dust off before sitting next to him. "I think I can play with my right hand but I don't remember how to read the notes for my left."**

** "What songs do you remember?"**

** "I don't memorize. I have the music books."' I took one out from the bin next to the piano. "After Mum and I saw Saving Mr. Banks in December, I went to buy a piano book for the songs from Mary Poppins. I think I could play Chim Chim cher-ee." I found the song in the book and put my right hand on the piano, then started playing.**

** I messed up a few times but Bash sat and watched. I didn't sing along (my singing voice isn't the most beautiful one in the world) but I played. I looked at Bash when I was done before starting another one, Let's Go Fly a Kite. That song was much harder than the previous one. **

** "You still have the talent," a voice said behind us. We jumped. Mum had come downstairs at some point when I was playing. "I could hear you playing from my room."**

** "You could hear all the way from your room?" I asked. Was the piano that loud?**

** "Barely, but I knew what the sound was. Beautiful, was it not, Mr. Poitiers?"**

** Bash looked at me. "It was Mrs. Stuart."**

** "You should play more, Mary," she said before walking back upstairs. **

** I looked at Bash. "Be honest, how bad was it?"**

** "Not bad at all. Those few times you messed up were because you hadn't played in years. It's common."**

** I smiled. "Really?"**

** He smiled back. "Really." I turned back to the piano, feeling inspired to play more. "Can I ask you something?"**

** "Of course."**

** "Are you doing anything in two weeks from this weekend? You can come to the grille where I work. Things get really interesting around that time with people dancing and celebrating. Though not to make you feel bad, but I did miss the Superbowl tonight to come here."**

** I gasped. "You did! Bash, I am so sorry!"**

** He laughed. "It's all right. I only missed the halftime show. I don't know much about either of the teams playing. And I got off work and escaped the drunk customers who only wind up fighting other customers who support their opposing team. And since it's up to the staff to prevent bloodshed, I guess I should thank you. But would you like to do something in two weeks?"**

** I thought for a moment. What was next weekend and why would anyone be celebrating? This upcoming weekend was the party and that was February 8****th****. **

** February 14****th**** was the next Friday, and the 15****th**** was a Saturday.**

** The 14****th****. Of course. **

** "I think I might have something planned with my Mum on the Friday." It wasn't a lie. Usually her restaurant was full but I would go eat there and she would join me on her break. The other employees let me have dessert for a discount. "How about Saturday? You can try to take me downtown and corrupt me."**

** "I'll have to see if any games are going to be happening. But I'm sure I'll find one. Clear your calendar for that day."**

** "What exactly do you have in mind?" **

** "A brutal hockey game, maybe laser tag if we can. I wish you would let me break into that abandoned asylum but I guess I can figure out something else for us to do."**

** "And your work? When do you want me to come?"**

** "I'll let you know when we have anything fun happening, but it might not be until next month. Think you can wait that long?"**

** "For you, I'll wait."**

** "That's my girl."**

** I started playing the piano again as he stood up and looked at the photo albums. I stopped to look at him. He seemed to be looking for one in specific.**

** "Anything I can help you find Bash?"**

** "Which one has picture of you in your awkward phase?"**

** "My awkward phase?"**

** He looked at me. "Maybe you never had any but the rest of us do. It happens around the age of 7 or 8 and continues through Middle School and maybe High School. So which album is it in?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.**

** "I'm not telling you because I don't want you to see. I had that phase. Not for as long as it seems you did, but I had braces in Middle School. And I didn't focus on my hair the way I do now. I did have a front tooth missing when I was little but that was the first tooth I ever lost."**

** "Show me."**

** I stood up. "You can find it yourself. Or I can race you to the top of the stairs so you're not left in the dark."**

** He stood up. "Deal."**

** He won the race. **

******There you have it. A long Chapter 12. When they go to the grille Bash works in (won't be for several more chapters), there's a part that mirrors 1x01, a scene where Bash and Mary don't exchange words. If you know which scene I'm referring to. **

****** And hmmm... a friend Francis used to have Math with? I wonder who that could be. ;)**


End file.
